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In on the ground floor! And while I'm a staunch Davionist, I can't say no to the e) 17th Recon Regiment (FWL). They're just drat fun and should be a blast to read. I'm also going to plug the Trad Games Discussion thread, since it's a potential resource for the folks who're bound to show up in the thread and as spill-over for discussions related to the game but not to this LP. Edit: Also sign me up! Finally bothered to upgrade to Plat for this. Tempest_56 fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Jan 21, 2011 |
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Jan 21, 2011 19:23
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Kaboom Dragoon posted:Sure, we won't know what we're facing, but it gives ss the REALLY BIG MECHS WITH COLOSSAL SHOOTY BITS Surprise! They're all Chargers!
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Jan 21, 2011 21:13
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so in the end it all balances out, right?
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PoptartsNinja posted:It's a Star League design that really did not make the transition to 'we don't know how to make this work!!!'-era technology very well. ...HUSSAR! Hell yes! God I have so many good memories of those things, even if they're laughably fragile.
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Jan 22, 2011 01:20
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WarLocke posted:First OpFor casualty spotted. Screw you, the Hussar is awesome. The HSR-200-D is a man's harrasser mech. The -300-D isn't bad, but didn't transition well to 3025 tech. And the other designs aren't really Hussars. 
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Jan 22, 2011 01:47
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Aw yeah, time to go do some damage.  I like this mix, too. If I was doing this solo, my prime tactic would probably be a basic pincer. Griffin at long range, Blackjack at medium to lay down support fire. Jenner goes left, Vulcan goes right and flank opposite sides. Both the Jenner and Vulcan are absolutely deadly in a knife fight, the Griffin's an excellent sniper and the BJ-1DB is an excellent direct fire support platform. Have to see what the terrain and opposition is, but I like the numbers as they stand.
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Jan 23, 2011 00:50
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Also, for reference to those unfamiliar with the mechs on hand today: The GRF-1N Griffin  The BJ-1DB Blackjack  The VL-5T Vulcan  The JR7-D Jenner  Click here for the full 800x555 image.
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Jan 23, 2011 00:56
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PoptartsNinja posted:Unfortunately, either Tempest_56 doesn't have forum PMs, or isn't around; so KnoxZone is now our Griffen pilot. Since he may be away for the weekend, Tempest_56 will be given another chance in the next scenario. KnoxZone, expect a Forum PM in the next... minute or so. Bog and blunder. Actually, that would be Verizon deciding that this weekend I didn't really need to have a connection - I've been fighting with them since Saturday noon-ish to get back on. My apologies for the delay, and I'll drop to the back of the queue like a good boy.
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Jan 24, 2011 14:30
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Well, since I mucked things up before, I figure I'll contribute some other stuff. For those not familiar, some visuals for the opposition now. DRG-1N Dragon  SDR-5K Spider  J. Edgar hovertank 
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Jan 24, 2011 20:26
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Axe-man posted:
This is the plan I'd go with, though I would probably swing D further south to flank. The Jenner's isolated already, so might as well try to at least ID that unknown contact. It's fast and agile enough that it should be able to survive for a turn or two before there's any real trouble. Unless the Dragon kicks it in half (which is unlikely).
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Jan 24, 2011 20:44
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Pladdicus posted:I'd rather Jenner get out of there, we do better keeping him alive until we can A) Retreat after primary is completed or B)We can consolidate our fire on the Dragon. Personal preference, perhaps. The Jenner's mint, it can withstand the firepower there. The Dragon and the hostile Jenner are pretty certain to move north and support the remaining Jed. In the south, the Spider is already faster than the Jenner and is likely to pursue anyhow, so K2 and D are gonna knife-fight anyway. In the process, we might as well get an ID on K1 before it pops out of the woods and right into our laps. Right now I'm wondering where their big guns are. They're suspiciously low on firepower, and I'm worried that K1 is something with big guns. All we know is that it's a light with at least 5/8 move. At this range, a Firestarter or Javelin could really mess us up if we're not prepared. Kenlon posted:Remember - you're mercs, not idiot House troops. Accomplish your objectives and get the hell out. We're mercs. Salvage, man. You know how much a Dragon goes for these days on the market?
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Jan 24, 2011 21:39
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Kenlon posted:Jenner's are made out of tinfoil - it can't stand up to anything. It's a Spider 5K. Jenner's a light HK mech. It packs literally more than quadruple the firepower, more armor, only slightly less mobility and can flip arms so it doesn't even matter if the Spider gets behind it. Barring incredible bad dice luck in shooting, the Jenner has a massive advantage and should win almost every time. Hell, half the Spider's firepower is in machine guns. The Jenner can take it.
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Jan 24, 2011 22:53
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AtlantisMantis posted:Hey man, just avoid the car wash and you'll be fine. When someone named Atlantis tells you to stay out of the water, you should probably listen.
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Jan 24, 2011 23:23
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Cthulhu Dreams posted:I'd like to ID the unknown mech before I do anything to hardcore. It's unlikely we'll be able to salvage any kills in the short term. Well, let's look at things. What do we know about the unknown? It's a light, it moves at least 5/8, this is Succession Wars tech and it isn't a typical Combine mech. Possibilities? Locust, Wasp, Stinger, Spider, Ostscout, Mercury, Thorn, Valkyrie, Mongoose, Commando, Javelin, Hermes, Hussar, Firestarter. So 14 potentials. Of those, I'd say only the Javelin, Firestarter, Hermes and Hussar are any real threat to us. Maybe the Commando. The rest are all either too lightly armed or armored to be a significant problem at this point.
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Jan 24, 2011 23:32
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Cythereal posted:The Javelin carries 2x SRM-6 if it's the basic model, or 4 med lasers if it's the first variant. Seems quite punchy for this weight. It is. The Jav's one of my favorite recon killers - it's quick, reasonably tough and can dish out a LOT of damage versus a light mech. It's basically the worst-case scenario we've got here. quote:Firestarter is 4 flamers, two med lasers, and two machine guns. I fail to see anything seriously threatening here. The threat here is mostly versus the Griffin. Either one of these can easily get in under the Griff's minimum range, keep in close and pick it apart with no real threat to themselves. The Firestarter could just flamer the Griffin until it pops. We'd have to divert a lot of our available firepower ASAP to kill it before the Griffin got into serious trouble, and that leaves us open to their Jenner and Dragon. quote:Hussar is also hellishly fast and has a large laser. I know little about tabletop BT, but wouldn't it have probably fired by now if it was this? The Hussar can dictate engagement range pretty easily - well played, it makes mincemeat out of the Jenner and Vulcan, and can put the Blackjack at seriously unfavorable odds. It probably hasn't fired by now because it hasn't had direct LOS on us yet. (To put into perspective, I once held off an entire assault lance with a Hussar 200. Don't underestimate that speed and a good sniping weapon.) quote:Thorn and Valkyrie carry LRMs in their basic models. Again, I would think it would have fired by now if it had LRMs. That's likely. Neither is also that much of a threat - it's just a lone LRM5 on either.
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Jan 25, 2011 01:33
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Zaodai posted:An entire assault lance being held off by a single Hussar seems a bit... off. That had to be the worst piloted Assault Lance ever, or they just didn't have an objective. That one's a bit of a longer story than that and I'm leaving out a number of details. The summary is 'everybody kill that god damned Hussar, it's spotting for a Long Tom that's shooting our dropship'. But that doesn't sound nearly as cool.
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Jan 25, 2011 01:57
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Zaodai posted:It still doesn't really make sense to me. I mean, I can get how you would make yourself a target, but not why they wouldn't have anything at all better than an assault lance to go hussar hunting with. They probably deserved to have their dropship destroyed. Okay, perhaps then I need to tell the full tale. This was several years ago (circa 1998-1999) in the strange world of the Battletech MUX. It's a strange adaptation, converting the board game relatively faithfully to a purely text-based, real-time simulation that operates through the same avenues that a MUD does. It's quirky and surprisingly difficult to play, but offered actual multiplayer campaign-level Battletech in an era before Megamek existed. I was the recon commander of a LCG unit, who were locked in a battle versus a group of the Northwind Highlanders. We had just taken a critical firebase and had withdrawn back for repairs and recovery. Which is when we got radar contact on a Highanders dropship that was headed towards the contested firebase. Now, one important quirk of the game is that everything is manned by a person. Tanks, mechs, dropships all need to be piloted by a living player. The sole exception was static base defense turrets, which worked on the principle of 'shoot anything you have a BTH10 or better on'. Since we'd pulled back our forces from the firebase (which lacked repair facilities), we didn't have anybody on-site except for the automated turrets. The problem is that it's possible to sit at extreme range and pot-shot the turrets at a distance the crude AI doesn't understand, or you can artillery them to death. The Highlanders were going to take the base we'd just gotten and put us at a severe disadvantage. All we had to work with was a Lynx, a Hussar, an Assassin and a Long Tom. Everything else was either offline or too damaged to use. We had no chance, up until we realized that it was about 3 in-game hours (about 30 minutes) until dark. Then the Highlanders wouldn't be able to outrange the turrets and would be (at best) forced to blind-fire artillery and hope they hit. If they didn't take it then, we would be able to move forces up to the firebase the next day and hold it with real mechs. So we charged out to face them, finding out when we arrived that it was an Overlord packing a half-dozen mechs and a mobile Thumper artillery piece. The Lynx and Assassin drew off the Highlander's strike screen (another Lynx and a Cicada, if I remember right), while my Hussar spotted for the Long Tom while running around and sniping at the mechs. The dropship didn't shoot back because the pilot was also in the field, at the controls of a mech. I spent half an hour spotting for artillery, shredding their dropship while I was chased around by a lance of slow assaults. They couldn't just let me fire on the dropship, as with the Long Tom I would have eventually crippled/destroyed it. And with no repair facilities at the firebase, they would have to walk their mechs back to their main base, ~200 hexes (almost two real hours walk) away. As well as having lost a ~$300 million C-Bill dropship that they couldn't have replaced. They did eventually take out my Hussar - Longbow landed an LRM shot that critted out my hip - but we nearly destroyed the dropship, took out their artillery tank and ammo-boomed a Victor in the process. And held until night, so they were forced to retreat rather than take the firebase. So it was a rather specific scenario, yes. Had there been an actual pilot in the dropship, it might have gone differently, perhaps. But for the circumstance presented, the story is true - a Hussar held off an entire lance of assault mechs for around 30 turns. (Toldja it was a bit of a longer story.)
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Jan 25, 2011 03:08
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To those suggesting we withdraw - you're missing the important fact that we can't. Their slowest mech goes 5/8. They can easily outrun the Blackjack, and keep up with the Griffin. Even the Jenner and Vulcan wouldn't escape, as that Hussar can easily keep up and pick it apart from range. There's no way to reasonably withdraw from this fight if they want to keep with us. We have to fight. Now, what I'd do? Griffin accepts the challenge and engages in a sniping duel with the Dragon. Don't fight to win, just gently caress around at long range and trade PPC fire to keep the Dragon occupied. He's a Snake, he'll adhere to his honor code for at least a little while. Blackjack and Vulcan swing south and gangbang the hostile Jenner, which is probably toast PDQ. Our Jenner retreats around that NW hill to minimize exposure to the Hussar until backup arrives. Should be able to evade for a turn or two until the Blackjack and Vulcan can support.
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Jan 25, 2011 17:38
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Zaodai posted:Any distance you can move away from that Dragon to pull it off it's sniper's perch will be an enormous advantage against both it's lancemates and when it comes to actually killing it. I think we're in agreement there, actually. Even if it was just him on that perch, we'd be under serious threat. I'm just saying that accepting the duel is the best way, since it reduces the chance he'll open up on our more fragile mechs and leash him to the Griffin.
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Jan 25, 2011 18:28
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E: Nevermind, I'm a dummy.
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Jan 25, 2011 18:28
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Agent Interrobang posted:Did he? I was pretty sure it was just the typical Davion motivation. "What, has it really been ten years since we stomped a mudhole into the Liaos? Let's do it again for old times sake." ...Uh, Operation Doppelganger? The part where Max Liao tried to replace Hanse Davion with a brainwashed body double so he could rule the Federated Suns from the shadows and was about a half-inch from success? I'd call that fairly reasonable reason. e: so totally beaten.
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Jan 25, 2011 23:17
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W.T. Fits posted:I keep I present you a typical flowchart of a Battletech game to explain:  Click here for the full 600x1000 image.
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Jan 25, 2011 23:18
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'ing this, hoping that our pilots have sent in their orders and that PTN's played out the next round of combat.
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Mukaikubo posted:But the Hussar would, barring very bad luck, die this round. This would be my plan. At this point, one side or the other WILL get a flank on you. You can either face the Jenner or face the Hussar/Spider. The Hussar is the softest target and carries a big gun. One solid barrage should put it down, if you all concentrate on it. If possible, see if one of you can get into kicking range of the Spider while you're at it - knock that sucker down and he can't use that mobility.
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Jan 26, 2011 05:25
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Well, let's look at it in terms of kill power: The lance (minus the dueling Griffin) can put out a max of 78 damage; our more likely average will be around ~30-35 damage. The Jenner is packing 64 armor and 58 internal, minimum 14 damage to one location for a mission kill (destroying a leg). The Hussar has 24 armor and 51 internal, minimum 9 damage for a mission kill. One team salvo is practically certain to take out the Hussar, while depending on luck we may not even breach the Jenner's armor this turn.
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Jan 26, 2011 05:52
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So I say you should just shoot them until they explode. That works.
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Jan 26, 2011 18:25
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Glazius posted:Wow. The rulebook is that badly laid out that it takes so long? I can definitely see how you wouldn't exactly take the initiative to get better at the game after an experience like that. I think it more boils down to the game goes fairly quick if you know what you're doing and have the sense to consult the available quick-reference at the back of the book; but it takes roughly forever+1 if the involved players are too busy squabbling and bickering over exact rule wordings to play. Heat, for example, is pretty goddamn simple (you fired three weapons worth 3 heat each? You have 10 single heat sinks? You gain 9 heat and lose 10, for net 0) but some people just can't grasp it and have to look up the drat section of the book every time. Also, yeah, Megamek does 90% of that behind the scenes anyway so it doesn't even matter.
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Jan 26, 2011 21:28
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Cthulhu Dreams posted:A) Can you kick backwards, forwards, or all round you? Only into your forward arc, which is the hex directly in front of you and one to either side. Punching is different, depending on which direction your torso is twisted and which arm it is. (Simple answer: you can punch things everywhere.) quote:B) Is this walking path valid for 7 movement, and if not, what am I doing wrong: Yes, that appears to be valid.
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Jan 26, 2011 23:10
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Cthulhu Dreams posted:I don't think it's rear armor can possibly be that hot (I am assuming it is the same or less than the Jenner), so I anticipate that with a bit of luck, and some joy on the hit locations table, I can really mess him up. SDR-5K's rear armor is 2/4/2. So one ML hit anywhere breaks the armor.
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Jan 26, 2011 23:30
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Cthulhu Dreams posted:Fires: Also: and now it's time for...  BATTLETECH TACTICS! The above is the proper illustration of a mech's firing order. The order you fire your weapons in is important! Battletech weapons generally fall into two categories: Armor Piercing and Crit Seeking. AP weapons are those that do damage in a single location when fired, ideally in a high number. The PPC is a good example of this: 1 hit of 10 points to a single location. It's good for cracking open the tough outer shell of a mech's armor by applying concentrated firepower to one spot. Smaller hits create a sandpaper effect, wearing down the armor somewhat evenly across all possible locations. Energy weapons and most autocannons fall into this category. Crit Seeker weapons are those where a single shot can hit multiple places, like an SRM. They normally do less damage per hit, but the advantage is in their damage spread. Hitting different locations (an SRM6 can hit 6 different locations on a mech each time it shoots, for example) means a better chance of finding a location where there's no armor. Critical hits don't care how much damage you do, so a 1 point hit has the same critical chance as a 10 point hit. So low damage, multi-hit weapons are best. Missile weapons are the most common here, but some autocannons are also as are clusters of tiny guns (machine gun batteries, etc). So when firing, ALWAYS fire your large single hit weapons first, and your multi-hit weapons last.
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Jan 27, 2011 01:13
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WarLocke posted:Good post, but small nit in reference to the bolded part: while true, none of those autocannons are produced in the Inner Sphere as of yet. So for the rookies, ACs for all intents and purposes are armor-piercing weapons across all sizes at this point in time. There's always the AC2! 
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Jan 27, 2011 01:41
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Xmas Future posted:Nowhere near as risky as UACs though, RACs can be unjammed and UACs can't. I'd have a tough time choosing between a well-designed RAC-user versus a UAC-user. RACs are much more awesome. The dual RAC Jagermech is pure concentrated dakka.
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Jan 27, 2011 03:50
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Xmas Future posted:Definitely, but sometimes it's hard to pass up 40 potential damage to a single spot. Guilty admission: I am actually incapable of firing a RAC on anything less than the 6x firing rate. Even when it isn't tactically sound, I can't restrain myself from holding down the 'fire everything' button.
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Jan 27, 2011 04:08
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elitebuster posted:No, there was...........um......Omi Kurita? You mean Princess Peach, Snake Edition?
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Jan 27, 2011 04:15
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That was a drat lucky turn. It could have gone wrong in a LOT of worse ways. But it didn't, and that's great. Tactical observations: - The Vulcan is actually not as vulnerable as it seems. Yes, it's got a hole in the back. However, it has 6 internal left there, and so is relatively safe - the torso won't go out unless the Hussar pegs it in the same place again, and the odds are relatively low, nil if you can keep facing it. Criticals are also of little note, since all that's left in that location is a medium laser and two jump jets. Things that are nice to have, but their loss won't cripple the mech. - The Jenner is basically worthless this turn due to heat, so it should concentrate on evasion. It doesn't help that he's kinda exposed right now. - Target priority should be the Hussar. It's got the least armor and the most firepower. It's gonna be tough though, you don't have it in a good kill position. - Watch the Spider, it's very likely to concentrate on flanking the Vulcan now, so keep that in mind and possibly use the Blackjack to keep cover.
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Jan 27, 2011 14:40
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Longinus00 posted:I hope someone notices the big reveal from last turn soon. I don't see what's a big deal. I mean, there's just... PoptartsNinja posted:K1 Hussar  Kill the Hussar Kill the Hussar
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Jan 27, 2011 14:47
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Cthulhu Dreams posted:
Mechs don't have turrets. Even if it looks like one, mechanically they do not. He can still torso-twist, but no mech has a turret without going into really unusual and obscure optional rules.
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Jan 27, 2011 15:26
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Cythereal posted:That explains the lack of quadrupedal mechs, then. There actually are quad mechs, but they're rare. Quads have some advantages (a bonus to piloting rolls and the ability to side-step), but are pretty uncommon and have their own disadvantages (four legs, reduced crit space, looking silly).
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Jan 27, 2011 15:51
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Arquinsiel posted:Yup, except the first ever mech was a 100 ton Mackie.... the fluff makes no sense. Well, the Mackie may have been an assault by weight but it certainly wasn't much to fight in. Here, let's timeline mech development! 2439 - The MSK-6S Mackie is developed by the Terran Hegemony and is the first mech ever created. 2455 - Agents of the Lyran Commonwealth steal the Mackie's plans, causing the technology to spread. 2459 - Prototype of the Battleaxe is fielded, which eventually will evolve into the Warhammer. 2460 - Development of the Helepolis. 2466 - The Commando is designed. 2471 - First appearance of the Wasp, the first mech to ever use jump jets. 2474 - Production begins of the Archer. 2475 - Appearance of the Hammerhands, successor to the Battleaxe and predecessor of the Warhammer. 2479 - The Stinger is developed. 2481 - Genesis of the Toro. 2490 - Appearance of the Gladiator. 2491 - The Thunderbolt begins production. 2492 - Finally, the Griffin shows up. Keep in mind that most of those mechs didn't exist when the original Griffin fluff was written - only the Commando, Wasp, Stinger, Archer and Thunderbolt did.
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Jan 27, 2011 16:28
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Hob_Gadling posted:First match: last 15 minutes, when one push causes a chain reaction knocking three mechs down a hillside, knocking one out and leaving the rest easy pickings. Only way to salvage honor is to claim the match is immensely unbalanced. New game, forces switched. Reminds me of a match I once played. We were using a map with a high plateau and a long single hex wide ramp going up to it. There was of course a brawl on the ramp, with lots of mechs packed close together. Well, at some point one mech in there died and we suddenly remembered that the Stackpole rule was still turned on in Megamek. The close quarters made it a chain reaction. Of the ten mechs on the ramp at the start of the turn, two were alive at the end and one of those was crippled beyond use.
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Jan 27, 2011 21:12
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Arquinsiel posted:I've seen it deliberately done in meatgrinder games to deny an opponant the kill..... I've seen it done in campaign games to deny salvage by trying to smash yourself into an ammo explosion. Either way, it's really poor sportsmanship.
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Jan 27, 2011 22:12
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Mukaikubo posted:Another good thing about Megamek? It'll do all the hard work of tracking forest fires for you. You don't know hilarious until you take a firestarter with four flamers onto a heavy forest map and just let loose running around too fast to be caught. I freaking love Megamek for tracking fires and smoke. It makes setting mass smoke screens viable, which is awesome. I had a match once to simulate a retreat - what should have been a nasty fighting withdrawal turned into a hilarious mess of double-blind smoke.
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Jan 28, 2011 06:05
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