This is no Gundam, boy! No Gundam! - Let's Play Mecha Ace

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > This is no Gundam, boy! No Gundam! - Let's Play Mecha Ace

«‹›37 »

SomeMathGuy: Oct 4, 2014; The people were ASTONISHED at his doctrine.

Blood, death, and vengeance! :black101:

# ? Oct 9, 2014 19:50

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 24, 2024 18:39

Derek Barona: Dec 8, 2009; WHO'S YOUR FRIEND?!

We are Death. Time for her to learn this.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 19:55

warhammer651: Jul 21, 2012

Apply Sword to the Imp

# ? Oct 9, 2014 20:03

Hattie Masters: Aug 29, 2012; COMICS CRIMINAL; Grimey Drawer

Slightly different this time, so you're getting the options posted:

Hawkins is no fool. The second you lunge to attack again, she pulls back and assumes a defensive stance. Without the speed advantage which had allowed your opponent to attack you so aggressively, your opponent seems to only be interested in fending off your own attacks.

Strike and parry, strike and parry. Again and again, your opponent blocks each blow until suddenly, as you swing again, the Vallier Custom's hand lashes out, grasping at your Uxbridge's arm. Your lightning reflexes get you away in time but Hawkins uses the precious seconds you spend to reorient yourself to rush forward in outerattack.

Press the attack aggressively.

Keep calm, fight defensively, and look for an opening.

Attempt to withdraw to keep out of reach.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 20:05

Derek Barona: Dec 8, 2009; WHO'S YOUR FRIEND?!

Okay, that didn't work. Stop for a minute and look for an opening.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 20:07

JT Jag: Aug 30, 2009; #1 Jaguars Sunk Cost Fallacy-Haver

Ok, she got us there. And I bet she's expecting us to go defensive after that little stunt, she's probably prepared for that. And just attacking like crazy for a third straight round probably won't work either.

Let's try to surprise her and do something unexpected: pull back and get some distance between us. It might throw her off her game enough to make an opening.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 20:13

Dooky Dingo: Feb 17, 2011; Gym badge day is a VERY dangerous day!

The best defense is a good offense.
CRUSH, KILL, DESTROY.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 20:26

Talmonis: Jun 24, 2012; The fairy of forgiveness has removed your red text.

Fight defensively by feinting as if you're going to back off, then hit her.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 20:28

Indiiea: Sep 26, 2013

That made us mad... so mad we keep on fighting aggressively. We will get in another hit sometime if we try it again and again... right? :ohdear:

# ? Oct 9, 2014 20:30

Lord Cyrahzax: Oct 11, 2012

Press the attack! She fears us, cowers behind her sword! She's weak!

# ? Oct 9, 2014 21:11

MechaCrash: Jan 1, 2013

I was originally going to vote withdraw, because I thought that was as in "get back a bit and watch." But then I re-read it more closely, and it's withdraw as in "run away" so gently caress that, we got :ese:

to do. Press the attack while we have the upper hand. We're not going to kill the enemy ace because c'mon, it's the third episode, but we can at least make her slink off like a beaten dog. :black101:

# ? Oct 9, 2014 21:18

Hattie Masters: Aug 29, 2012; COMICS CRIMINAL; Grimey Drawer

poo poo. That might not have been the best plan, guys posted:

The two of you rush forward, your blades already in motion. You launch a swing at your opponent's cockpit module but at the last instant, you turn your blade outwards, slashing at Hawkins's exposed sword arm.

Unfortunately, it seems you both had the same idea.

Your strikes connect at the same time. As your Uxbridge's severed hand flies away in one direction, the Vallier Custom's weapon�and its own dismembered limb�flies off in the other.

Your machines drift past each other, carried by the inertia of your attacks. You turn around in time to see Hawkins deploy a short chain knife from her machine's elbow. It appears that the Imperial ace had a backup melee weapon.

Unfortunately, you do not.

Not too bad though posted:

Before Hawkins can strike again, you become aware of an incessant beeping. It is only when the Vallier Custom pulls up short that you realize it is coming from the other end of your comm link with the Imperial machine.

The Imperial ace pulls back and sheathes her blade. Her expression is almost apologetic as she looks up at you.

"I'm afraid I must cut our dance short, pilot," the Imperial gives you a sad, little grin. "To interrupt our engagement pains me greatly; you are the first to have ever come so close to defeating me. You�fascinate me, pilot."

With that, the Vallier Custom turns around and retreats for the fleeing shapes of the Imperial task force.

"I look forward to our next encounter, pilot."

And now we reach the rest of the drat game. posted:

The space over Vedria is strangely calm as you watch the Imperial machine recede into the blackness of space. In the distance, you can see clouds of debris and bodies where the fighting had been hardest, floating almost toylike in the microgravity of orbit. Only the sleek, deadly ships of the victorious CoDEC fleet remain, triumphant despite the efforts of the enemy.

With the battle over, there remains nothing left to do besides return your machine to the safety of the Caliburn's hangar deck.

Or at least we will in a few minutes. posted:

The last of your combat adrenaline leaves you as you set your Uxbridge gently onto the Caliburn's recovery deck. A sudden wave of exhaustion hits you as your machine is slowly lowered through the hangar elevator to the airlock.

You can barely stay alert as the tell-tale hiss of atmosphere fills the pressure chamber and the sounds of the hangar bay begin to filter through the quickly thickening atmosphere outside of your machine.

By the time the airlock opens, you are operating in a post-combat fugue, barely even noticing or recognizing the secured bulk of the white prototype mecha as you pass it in the hangar bay and head for your own machine's berth.

Your eyelids heavy and your breath coming heavily, you set down your machine in the maintenance dock. Your mind goes through the shutdown check slowly, as if it were swimming in mud. Finally, the last of your displays shuts down, leaving your cockpit lit only by the small emergency lights on your suit.

With a high-pitched hiss, your machine's cockpit slides open. The sounds and lights of the Caliburn's hangar deck assault your senses.

You take a deep breath, and pull yourself out of your machine.

INTERLUDE posted:

Colonial Warship Caliburn

In orbit over Vedria Prime

You spend the next sixteen hours unconscious as your body purges your system and recovers from the post-combat crash.

You wake up in your quarters, pale and trembling, your body still recovering from the effects of your combat drugs. In a tradition dating back over half a millennium, you went into combat dosed on a combination of stimulants which served to make you fast enough, tough enough, and alert enough to survive on the battlefield. Every sortie starts with your suit pumping your dosage into your system and ends with the beginnings of an hours-long period of withdrawal, through which you are blessedly unconscious.

The first few minutes you spend awake are devoted to a slow, deliberate routine: you strip off your sweat-soaked flight suit, take a quick shower, and drink three or four glasses of water at a regular, measured pace. It takes about half an hour for the color to return to your face, and for you to realize just how hungry you are.

Slipping into your duty fatigues, you head out of your quarters for the galley.

Jesus this is a long one posted:

It seems that during the past few hours, the story of your encounter with Blue Masque has spread throughout the ship.

The pilots and crew that you encounter lower their voices in reverence as you walk by them. It is something to have a pilot on board who has faced the finest Imperial ace of her generation and lived. It is something else entirely to have on board a pilot who has managed to fight the Blue Masque to a standstill.

Twenty-four hours ago, you were simply another ace on a ship full of talented and distinguished pilots. Now, hushed voices are already referring to you as the best pilot in CoDEC's military.

You certainly get to hear more than enough of the ship's opinion as you make the half-kilometer walk to the ship's galley.

AND WE GET A loving NAME! posted:

The only person you encounter in the corridor with no open opinion on your recent actions seems to be Captain Baelyn herself. With her are a pair of marines and a slim, petite young woman in what appears to be the short jacket and pleated skirt of some kind of private school uniform. Her long, black hair and soft, adolescent features stand out in a mass of hard-edged faces and military haircuts.

Every few moments, the small group stops and the Captain speaks a few words. It soon becomes clear that she's giving the kid the same introductory tour you got when you were first assigned to the Caliburn, which could only mean�.

"Lieutenant Commander?" You snap to attention the instant you realize that the Captain's talking to you now.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"This is Acting-Ensign Inari Watanabe, a volunteer from planetside. She'll be coordinating your unit from the Caliburn."

CoDEC carriers generally carry a "bridge controller", an officer who serves as a contact point between the bridge and the ship's combat armature complement. Captain Baelyn had been filling in since your last bridge controller was wounded four months ago. Not only would a new dedicated bridge controller make the ship as a whole more effective, it would also mean that you'd be spared from Captain Baelyn's often-abrasive tone while in the field.

You nod politely to the new volunteer. "Welcome aboard, Acting-Ensign Watanabe."

"Thank you," she replies as she leans in, trying to read your last name, printed on your uniform. "Lieutenant Commander-"

Same as with the name of the Lance, I'm not going to give you the default options. Goons always come up with good names, so have at them! Not posting stats because this post is long enough as it is, but our reputation has gone up to 68

# ? Oct 9, 2014 21:58

Sindai: Jan 24, 2007; i want to achieve immortality through not dying

I am annoyed the game already took Kamille because that would have been great, but it does make for an obvious alternative: Quattra Bajeena.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 22:06

Talmonis: Jun 24, 2012; The fairy of forgiveness has removed your red text.

Rhonda Ral.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 22:10

AfroSquirrel: Sep 3, 2011

Talmonis posted:

Rhonda Ral.

There we go. I was trying to figure out some feminine version of that name.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 22:15

Z the IVth: Jan 28, 2009; The trouble with your "expendable machines"; Fun Shoe

I'm kinda partial to Full Frontal. Suits our personality rather well.

Alternatively Mono Bageena. Quattro is Char man, Char!

# ? Oct 9, 2014 22:34

MechaCrash: Jan 1, 2013

Tempting though it may be to throw my support behind Rhonda Ral, it doesn't seem to fit. I'm still not sure if we're a sociopath or an ork, but the Blue Giant was neither. I was thinking something more like the guy who pilots this thing from Gundam X. How about Diana Graif?

It'll probably lose out to Rhonda just because who the gently caress watched Gundam X, though. :v:

# ? Oct 9, 2014 22:35

Derek Barona: Dec 8, 2009; WHO'S YOUR FRIEND?!

MechaCrash posted:

Tempting though it may be to throw my support behind Rhonda Ral, it doesn't seem to fit. I'm still not sure if we're a sociopath or an ork, but the Blue Giant was neither. I was thinking something more like the guy who pilots this thing from Gundam X.

It'll probably lose out to Rhonda just because who the gently caress watched Gundam X, though.

I watched Gundam X, thank you!

I'm surprised no one's tried coming up with something off of Master Asia.

Derek Barona fucked around with this message at 22:41 on Oct 9, 2014

# ? Oct 9, 2014 22:37

SomeMathGuy: Oct 4, 2014; The people were ASTONISHED at his doctrine.

Talmonis posted:

Rhonda Ral.

This. Let's just try not to forget to fight in the middle of a battle.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 22:46

Lord Cyrahzax: Oct 11, 2012

Diana Graif

# ? Oct 9, 2014 23:12

Rockopolis: Dec 21, 2012; I MAKE FUN OF QUEER STORYGAMES BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO WITH MY LIFE THAN MAKE OTHER PEOPLE CRY

I can't understand these kinds of games, and not getting it bugs me almost as much as me being weird

Karen ~~the Betrayer~~ :black101:

just Karen.

# ? Oct 9, 2014 23:16

Dooky Dingo: Feb 17, 2011; Gym badge day is a VERY dangerous day!

Keres Nyx

Greek death spirits! :black101:

# ? Oct 9, 2014 23:29

Bob Smith: Jan 5, 2006; Well Then, What Shall We Start With?

Full Frontal. It has to be.

I played this game through a couple of times, it's great fun. I never managed to do anything right, the second time things went catastrophically wrong at every turn.

# ? Oct 10, 2014 00:39

Derek Barona: Dec 8, 2009; WHO'S YOUR FRIEND?!

Yeah, hell with it. Rhonda Ral

# ? Oct 10, 2014 00:48

CirclMastr: Jul 4, 2010

No one's going to vote along with me anyway, so I'll say we should be named Alexandria Titania Anastasia Romanov Philameter.

# ? Oct 10, 2014 01:21

warhammer651: Jul 21, 2012

Does the game give you actual options, or is it write-in?

Karen THE BETRAYER

# ? Oct 10, 2014 02:38

MechaCrash: Jan 1, 2013

There are options, but we aren't seeing them, because you can choose to enter your own name, so gently caress the defaults.

# ? Oct 10, 2014 02:39

Derek Barona: Dec 8, 2009; WHO'S YOUR FRIEND?!

warhammer651 posted:

Does the game give you actual options, or is it write-in?

I assume it's the same as the choice for your squad name, it gives you a set of generic names and the last one is "gently caress that weak poo poo, I can come up with better!"

# ? Oct 10, 2014 02:39

Crummelhorn: Nov 3, 2010

Corinne Nander.

# ? Oct 10, 2014 03:07

AmyL: Aug 8, 2013; Black Thursday was a disaster, plain and simple.
We lost too many good people, too many planes.
We can't let that kind of tragedy happen again.

Derek Barona posted:

Yeah, hell with it. Rhonda Ral

I like the name Rhonda Ral so let see what happens

# ? Oct 10, 2014 05:17

Gyra_Solune: Apr 24, 2014; Kyun kyun
Kyun kyun
Watashi no kare wa louse

Sindai posted:

I am annoyed the game already took Kamille because that would have been great, but it does make for an obvious alternative: Quattra Bajeena.

I like this one best.

# ? Oct 10, 2014 16:36

RickVoid: Oct 21, 2010

Quattra Bagyna.

Real vote though is Rhonda Ral.

# ? Oct 10, 2014 18:26

Hattie Masters: Aug 29, 2012; COMICS CRIMINAL; Grimey Drawer

Busy day yesterday, again today so I didn't have time to update. Anyway, here's updates!

Okay, can someone explain the Rhonda Ral thing? I feel there's a joke there I'm not getting posted:

"-Rhonda Ral, commander of Longinus Lance, here on the Caliburn."

Watanabe stands stunned for a moment, as if you had just offered some world-changing revelation. "Longinus Lance?" she finally says, so quietly you can barely hear. "I�I see."

You blink in surprise. The young volunteer's reaction to the name of your unit is certainly odd. You wonder if the name holds some certain significance to the new crewmember.

Captain Baelyn steps in before you can ask. "There's still a great deal of the ship to cover, Acting-Ensign, I'm afraid we don't have time to continue chatting." She turns to you. "Lieutenant Commander Ral, I'm giving you twenty-four hours off until your next assignment. I trust you will use the time wisely."

You have only a moment to ponder the abrupt end of your conversation before your stomach begins rumbling in earnest. Your last meal was more than a day ago. Driven by hunger, you have no choice but to continue to the ship's galley.

In the far future of whenever the gently caress this is set, there is only lovely food and Mechas posted:

If there is one good thing about CoDEC military rations, it is the simple fact that there are plenty of them to go around.

Normally, considering the quality of the (facetiously labelled) "food" itself, that is hardly an advantage. At the moment, with your body desperately craving the calories it needs to recover from an hours-long spell in a combat armature cockpit, it is the only thing that matters.

You are shovelling the last remnants of your fourth tray of what the identification tab swears is beef stew and rice when you hear a chirping in your ear: someone is trying to call you.

The comm line opens, and a calm, gravelly, male voice speaks into your ear. "Good morning, Lieutenant Commander. I trust you slept well?"

Normally, it would be considered the height of arrogance for a mere enlisted crewmember to address a superior officer so informally but Chief Ingram Weaver just happens to be head of the Caliburn's hangar crew. When someone is in charge of keeping your lance's machines in fighting order, it pays to cut them a little slack.

"I slept okay. What do you need, Chief?"

"If you got the time, I'd like you to come down to Hangar Bay B for a minute. I'm sure you want a status report on the repairs to your machine."

You look down at the food tray. The remaining portions of your meal look far less palatable now that you are no longer starving.

"I'm on my way, Chief."

"Sure thing, just let me finish eating first."

"Maybe later, if I've got the time."

No stat changes.

# ? Oct 11, 2014 23:47

SomeMathGuy: Oct 4, 2014; The people were ASTONISHED at his doctrine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0a_tAofsH4

This fine mustachio'd gentleman's name is Ramba Ral.

Anyway, oh boy, mech specs!

# ? Oct 11, 2014 23:50

The Lone Badger: Sep 24, 2007

We need food to fuel our sword arm. Finish eating then go sharpen said sword.

# ? Oct 11, 2014 23:51

Hattie Masters: Aug 29, 2012; COMICS CRIMINAL; Grimey Drawer

SomeMathGuy posted:

This fine mustachio'd gentleman's name is Ramba Ral.

Anyway, oh boy, mech specs!

My god it is full of stars. Suprisingly, I haven't actually seen that much Gundam. Except for G. I love me my G Gundam.

# ? Oct 12, 2014 00:05

AfroSquirrel: Sep 3, 2011

Hattie Masters posted:

My god it is full of stars. Suprisingly, I haven't actually seen that much Gundam. Except for G. I love me my G Gundam.

Now's a good time to watch some more! Specifically Gundam Build Fighters, which involves the continuing adventures of Ramba Ral (age 35).

# ? Oct 12, 2014 00:11

The Chad Jihad: Feb 24, 2007

We're clearly lady Yazan instead of lady Ral, I'm upset with all of you

# ? Oct 12, 2014 01:16

MechaCrash: Jan 1, 2013

Finish eating, then see what he wants. We should see about our machine promptly, but we've got the day off, so it can wait.

# ? Oct 12, 2014 01:20

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 24, 2024 18:39

Derek Barona: Dec 8, 2009; WHO'S YOUR FRIEND?!

I'm not gonna lie, the fact you used Ral's line as the thread title but didn't know who Ral is shocks me.

Let's go check the mech. She's probably gonna bitch us out about losing an arm so we might as well get it over with.

# ? Oct 12, 2014 01:44

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > This is no Gundam, boy! No Gundam! - Let's Play Mecha Ace

«‹›37 »