/btg/ - BattleTech General

Mechs for scale.

more mechs for scale

Drunk Diamond Shark + three Blazers = an extremely bad idea.

>tfw the only part of this I like are redundant Tbolts and laser ams.

That was literally my first thought for the thing and decided to skip it.

Here's some pics.

i.imgur.com/CIvbl4C.jpg

and a converted jumping spider thrown in.

I believe it was comissioned as a RWR mech, aka the other shark faction

...

Who needs stopping power?

You ever tried ProCreate? I like it about a million times better than green stuff/brown stuff.

wtf is this, mega man?

After my marauder walkcycle yesterday i decided to do the warhammer today

The show that Battletech clearly based its less sane designs on, considering they licensed stuff from its older (Macross) and younger (Southern Cross) brothers.

Yeah, Orguss, built all the models back when Revell was importing them back in the late 80's

Needs down movement/squash after foot contact maybe? Otherwise love it.

It's too fast for 4/6.

>walking speed of 40 km/h
>slow
no

Warhammer stronk

It looks like its just realized that its 5 minutes late to a meeting, so it's walking quickly to get there.

I am happier with how the Marauder's walkcycle came out though.

You nailed that one really well.
youtu.be/08vHFVCF8O0

>Protomechs for scale

Fixed.

>shit, I gotta get to this meeting on time or Mr. Wolverine's gonna be on my ass about it all day
>why did they send the guy with no hand actuators to get coffee?
>assholes

Is it time for a new walk cycle video?
youtube.com/watch?v=822Nq5ugStE

make the mehcs 30% larger and then that image will be accurate

those mechs are 10 ft too short

Combiner mechs when?

now that we have beautiful versions of the classic mechs I wouldn't mind using one or two of them in my games. What are the good variants for Unseen mechs that are usable on Jihad/Dark Age games?

>five Panthers combining like Voltron into a single giant Panther

Sounds like something out of my Draconis Combine animes.

go home, Herb
we don't like Transformers

>Voltron
Fuck your GoLions, we are FULL COMBATICON IN HERE.

You can't go wrong with thr Warhammer-8D now; it's excellent statwise, and the new mini means you don't have to use the horrific reseen mini for it

>Warhammer-8D
>8D
why does it look so happy?

Yes please :)
I think can't touch this is a good match for the marauder :P

I was thinking more, get down on it

Funky town for the warhammer

>Good variants for Unseen in Jihad/Dark Age games?

STG-3P: Harasser with good range
STG-5G: Capped LPPC with wings. What's not to love?
STG-6L: Speed upgrade to the classic -3G, with ECM for maximum dickery.
STG-6S: Like a Locust, but good.

VLK-QD2: Great Light/VTOL/Vehicle hunter. Shit at everything else.
-QT2, QD4, QW5: Solid light fire-support designs, each with a preference for one style of combat. I prefer the -QT2, with its high speed and streak launcher, but the -QD4 is objectively better.

PXH-3PL: Brutal backstabber or sniper in the finest PXH tradition. Plus, it's a Strike Valk. What's not to love?
-4L: Solid harasser and ECM boat. No stealth.
-5L: Oh, there it is. Heat problems but fun as hell against conventional forces.
-6D: Solid brawler and backstabber.
-7K: God I love this thing. Snubbie, C3s, 6/9/9.
-8CS: ComStar are assholes. Severe heat problems.

Griffin: Honestly? Almost all the variants are solid gold, or at least above-average.

Scorpion:
The -12K is an interesting option as a lance master for a lighter force. The -1TB is a decent Light-killer, and the 12S is hilarious sandblasting support for a Lyran unit (but still kinda shit).

Shad:
3K: a brutal point-man for a c3 lance, and hits like a truck.
5D: Acceptable, but not the best.
5M: Solid unit, but you need to be careful with its ammo use on the LRM. Would be better without the SSRM, but 3050s. The 7CS is a basic upgrade that fixes that issue.
Meanwhile, the 7M doubles down and adds on an LGR.
The 8L is an excellent scout 'Mech and great for warcrimes. Like all Liao designs, has some heat problems but the IJJs help.
9D: Decent, flexible unit for C3 lance support. Nothing to write home about, but not appalling
11CS: Comstar: still assholes.
12C: Punchy, but 6/9/4?

Everything Wolverine is made of literal, actual sex.

Oh god yes! :P

Ostroc:
I play with the OSR less than I'd like, so take this with a grain of salt.
-2D: Good sniper. Could use an MML/LRM instead of the SRM to get the best out of its heat profile
4C: Eh. Heat problems, shitty armament.
4K: Interesting concept, but the HD gyro hampers it a little. Still fun for adding a little spine to a Medium lance in close combat, or for bodyguard work.
4L: So, about those Liao heat problems..
5C: Hits like a punchy medium, tanks like a Medium, moves like a fast Medium. I'd have downgraded the LPPC and MPL for ERMLs and added a cap to the HPPC, but it's still usable.
5W: Basically an unfucked 4K. Great pointmech for a C3 lance.

Ostsol:
As above, although I do use them a little more often in OPFOR than the OSR.
5M: Was scarier when it came out. Needs speed to use that weapons load now, and it's not got the armor to back it up.
5D: Totally a Succession Wars upgrade to the base, barring the Ferro. Has always disappointed me on the table, though.
6D/8M: Damned near perfect TSM boxers. Easy to keep up the heat on approach, headcapping punches. Choose speed (Marik) or armor (Daƿion).
7M: Oh Marik, you and your LGRs. There's better ways to waste 1500 BǷ.
-8D: Lacks punch for its weight range, but makes for a decent anti-conƿentional or anti-ǷTOL unit.
9M: I'ƿe lost it twice to MASC burnout. The armament is "eclectic" (by which I mean, "completely schizo"), and anemic. Still fun for light-hunting.
9R: Basically a lot like the OSR-5C, but with TSM and a shitty engine. I suppose you could bodyguard with it

Rifleman:
The RFL is either hilariously good, or unanswerably bad.
3Cr: You're one ammo crit away from a mission kill, and it performs.. well, kinda adequately. Shit armor, vaporizes as soon as someone looks at it crosseyed. Super-fun with AP ammo in a brawl, though.
5D: A whammy without the endurance.
5M: Good support unit as long as you can keep the guns from jamming.
(more)

What's your favorite light mech?

...

>but why.gif

I don't fucking know, talk to the Feddies.

...

RFL-6D: On the one hand, I really like it for the flexibility, cheapness, and cool running. On the other, it lacks punch, range, and the speed to catch most of the things it can kill. I'll sometimes throw it into a Medium lance if I don't know what the enemy is bringing.
6X: A Bandersnatch for the man who can't afford a Bandie.
7M: ERML spam without the sinks to support it and a pair of LGRs. Absolutely pathetic leg armor. At least it's got more than 6 armor on the head, unlike the -5M. It's shit.
7X: Trooper brawler, solidly in the "overgrown Medium" category.
8D: Like the -5M but less shit.
8X: Like the 7X but more shit. Actually, that's a little unfair. Longer range, decent sinking, slightly better armor, but slower and without jump capability.
9T: Still a trooper. Can afford to use a ton of specialist ammo, but still spamming 5-pointers and having trouble getting knock-down. Slow, middling range.

I'll handle the Crud and up later. Need to have a break from the computer for a bit.

>FedCom sigil

It's been... 20 years.

thanks, bro!
you did a good work as it is

it seems way less, though

Bump

Because it can fire both PPCs in a round.

Highlander -733, -733C, -733P

Which is your favorite?

The Highlander-732b is my favorite, but of yours, probably the -733P.

Cruds:
This is gonna be a long one. The Crusader has always kinda been the "special kid" in the Unseen class. Sure, the Locust has haemophilia and the Rifleman shits itself uncontrollably, but the CRD just sits in the corner rhythmically banging its head against the wall, eating paste and screaming obscenities at random. Anyway..
CRD-4BR: Double torsobomb in the CT. Which is incredibly retarded given the perfectly good CASEd ammo bins in the side torsos. At least split up the fucking @MG into half-tons in the side torsos, guys. Hell, drop the Streak system and put a ton of SRM ammo in each leg, it'd be fucking safer.
4D: Um, they swapped the MG@ for a heatsink. Slightly better. Pulses and SSRMs on a unit with 4/6/0, though? Pass.
4K: Same speed/ammo/pulse problem, now with shittier LRM launchers and better SRMs.
5K: I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's a fairly decent MRM unit. Cheap C3s support.
-5M: A better-than-average 3050s upgrade, and one of my favorites. An ammo blow still kills it, but the side torsos are relatively packed and the wreck is salvageable. And an AMS actually makes sense on an LRM boat.
5S: CASE in the center torso. Baby Jesus he'p me. Should have used Endo to get jets and some more ammo.
6M: An efficient brawler with decent critpacking. One of the better Cruds.
7L: If the RT goes, the 'Mech is useless. And there is SO much ammo in the RT. Uses its Stealth efficiently, and fights a lot like a Catapult. Another "good" CRD.
7W: Slow, MML-focused. fireworks factory. Has about the same ranged firepower as a stock Crud, but brutal up-close. Makes a decent bodyguard, but not the most intelligent use of Artemis.
8L: A nasty piece of work. Great at fucking with heat curves, has the ammo to play with mines or Infernos (more warcrimes than you can shake a Liao at), good speed, brutal punch at all ranges. The best Crud IMO - too bad it kinda acts like a WHM.
8S: HGR and jets. Low armor. At least it doesn't have a Small Cockpit?

Thunderbolt: Daddy's favorite little girl.
TDR-7M: Punchy, functional upgrade. Oversinked until you get in close. Then she rapes you in half. NEVER. EVER. get at 6hx from one of these.
7SE: I use this regularly as a bodyguard for fire support lances. GECM, quad pulses, Gauss, jets. It's a brutal combo, and it's great for pushing a Clanner's shit in on short notice. No LRMs, though.
9M: LGR version of above, but with triple ERs and an LRM-15. Dependable and tough.
9NAIS: Close-combat cavalry design. Works. I use it to finish off wounded 'Mechs or go hunting Mediums.
9Nr: Grossly expensive New Toy Syndrome unit; the LVSPL is kind of wasted given the close-combat array on the unit. But it can serve as a decent scout for a Heavy company, if you can afford/justify it.
9S: Another solid 3050s upgrade, with the caveats that entails. Unfortunately, it's too slow in later years to use its weapon load efficiently. Works well as the leader of a flame company though.
9SE: A mean little bitch despite the chronic oversinking. I usually tear out a couple sinks and put flamers in the LA or add an SRM pack.
9T: Stupid fast skirmisher, lots of 5-point hits. Almost has the sinks to use them.
10M: Jumping, hard-hitting PPC boat. Brutal in skilled hands, and at its best jumping into the middle of an enemy lance to fire in all directions.
10SE: I hate MASC. Otherwise, just a tarcomped upgrade to the 9SE.
11SE: You have to play it like a PXH and not a Highlander. Good MML backup to a comped, deadly CC load.
17S: Basically a -7SE with an ERPPC and TSM.
60RLA: 5(6)/8(9)/5 with TSM and a pair of Snubbies. Massive firepower and insane speed. The best jumping Thud.

Heading out for the evening. More later.

>Double torsobomb in the CT. Which is incredibly retarded given the perfectly good CASEd ammo bins in the side torsos
honestly, I always assumed that the torsobomb was a record sheet fuckup because it makes literally no sense.
if you DO move the CT ammo, it's actually a decent enough machine

>Battletech deck-builder

Well, shiver me mad cats.

Where did you read about this?

Indeed, where'd this come from?

Hey guys, how about a design challenge?

the year is 3055 and you've just entered the 30-ton free-for-all, what do you bring to the fight? no clantech is available, and to spice things up, the tournament organizers are not allowing medium lasers or machineguns of any type this year

I'd honestly give the Commando-1D a shot, because I'm a terrible nerd.

Fuck your custom mech bullshit.

Nuclear Urbie.

reddit.com/r/battletech/comments/4wn6lk/battletech_domination_fancreated_deckbuilding/

Fan created. It's...not awful, even if the creator can't create a link to save their lives.

hollander

This isn't fucking Gundam or Pacific Rim.

I use magicsculp for casting in two part instant molds. The stuff hold detail great,is malleable while curimg, and takes to hard edges well.

I gotchu covered.

>the year is 3055 and you've just entered the 30-ton free-for-all, what do you bring to the fight?
Stock: Jackal -55.
Custom: A Scarabus with all the MLs and the TAG, along with the LLAA pulled for a flamer in the head, a quintent of smalls in the LA, and a smoke launcher in the RT

Given the number of designs with it, I think it was a conscious choice to "balance" the ammo feed distances for the two weapons with a single ton of ammo. Happens with several Cruds and the SRM ammo.

Archers: Wewt. I love me some Archers, both aesthetically and tactically.

ARC-4M: Bread-and-butter straight upgrade to the -2R. Uses Endo and freezers to make the basic design work, adds Artemis. Overshadowed by flashier designs, but if you're not paying for missiles it's the Ur-Archer.
5R: The double-gunpod Archer goes NewTech. An excellent support design but can't bracket for shit. I drop the Artemis for a pair of sinks when I'm playing mercs; it doesn't lose any serious amount of firepower and gains some flex. You could also add TSM for the lulz.
5S: Another one of the inexplicable SSRM-2/NARC/LRM-15 designs from the '50s. Works okay as a babysitter but pretty meh.
5W: On the shallow end of the ammo pool with its LRMs, and again with the NARC. Okay in short games, hell in campaigns or mobile warfare.
6S/7S: Much better babysitter than the -5S. Still not great, but also still has two ArtIV LRMs-20. Both have mild tweaks but play similarly.
6W: Fucking goofy. Serious range problems, no speed, but theoretically scary as Hell.
7L: Another Liao design that uses Stealth right. Unfortunately slow, but good as part of an Assault battalion.
8M: Good, solid support design with no silly shit (and no LGR). Another unsung trooper that works hard and makes no fusses.
9K: Armed like a cavalry brawler without the speed or the jets, but it can do a number on you if you close. An excellent bodyguard for a C3 lance, decent in defensive ops.
9M: Another solid, functional Marik design - now with iJJs. Plays a lot like a Catapult. Watch the ammo though.
9W: WoB assassination machine. Dual LLs, VSS, AECM, speed boost. Can be a giant pain in the ass, but rare on the table.

The "watch the ammo" note should be on the -9K. It's got a lot of it and no CASE.

Warhammers:
I've always liked the look of the Whammy, but all too often passed over it for lighter or heavier designs. I tend to prefer faster glass cannon..

WHM-4L: Goddamnit, Sunny, stop using Stealth like this. Should have used standard PPCs instead of ERs. Still, it kinda works as long as you keep the armor turned off.
5L: Twin plasmas, 3/5/5, thirty sinks and a decent brawling array. Works well with the CRD-7L.
7K: Good, simple '50s upgrade that still works. The TAG and the Streaks are good for keeping people off your ass, but swapping them for a C3M is usually a better idea.
7M: Another simple upgrade, but it ain't as good. Full ton of MG@ in the CT feeding a single gun in the RT, AMS@ in the RT and AMS in the LT, shitty armor. The RFL-5D basically does the same job less explosively.
7S: Steiner, also gets on the CT bomb train. Could afford to drop a sink or three for some better close-in armament, armor, and/or CASEd ammo.
8D: A very good c3 support design with a solid close-in armament and decent armor.
8K: Like that but with HPPCs instead of ERPPCs. I have yet to be disappointed by it, and IMO the best of the upgrades.
8M: It's an undersinked Marauder built on a Whammy chassis; if you were wondering why there's not an LGR MAD, now you know.
9D: Two Comped ERPPCs on a 5/8/3. That's about it, really.
9S: Oversinked but functional if you can get it inside ERML range.
10T: Fun skirmisher with 5/8/7 profile and just enough sink. I'd call it a zombie but for the XL.
11T: Another fun design, a 4/6/5 with snubs and an MML. Undersinked for the weapon load but critpacked. Dumping the LPPCs for 2 sinks, ERMLs, and an armored gyro/engine could be interesting.

I just got back from GenCon and I've got to say, the Battletech demo was very promising and a lot of fun.

It doesn't really play like the tabletop, though. Several mechanics were different or just plain omitted. Which is a bonus for me, because I would just play the tabletop.

If anyone's interested, I could talk a bit about it.

I say, go for it.

Anything specific?

I had a chat with Jordan Weisman and Mike, the art director separately, but I suppose I can just spew a couple of things that come to mind.

The game plays similarly to XCOM, in that you have 2 action points. Running costs 2.

There's an initiative order, similar to tabletop where you move a couple and then your opponent does, with faster mechs moving first. Pilots can have a modifier to speed.

You can hold a faster mech in reserve to act at a later time, but they're vulnerable until then.

LRMs can arc over terrain.

Hm, I'd seen/heard most of that already as a backer.

What were your specific impressions?
Any things you especially liked or disliked?

Did they say anything about the mercs you can hire? Are they people with actual personalities like Castle (or even better, the people in the Jagged Alliance games) or just "copy, great leader" types like your wingmen in MW2/MW4 Mercenaries?

I haven't really been following it too closely. I got burned waiting for Diablo 3 and checking forums every day for 3 years so I try to keep my distance from games in development. Sorry, mate.

I asked as to the reasons the demo played differently from the tabletop and Jordan said that they initially tried a direct translation to video game, but it didn't feel good mainly because that the firing phase, that usually takes several minutes, being compressed into 10 seconds was too much information to absorb and you ended up reading a battle log instead of playing the actual game.

He described it that XCOM was a team of guys with armor and a gun, while mechs are giant walking trashbags of data with multiple health pools spread out across the body and multiple weapons.

I honestly didn't think to ask.

I asked about customization and the like with pilots, mechs, and ships and how your reputation and relationships with the different factions work, but I mostly got that they were working on them and nothing was really concrete yet because they're still so early in development.

Yeah, going by the videos and stuff I've seen this GenCon demo is basically their proof-of-concept for the combat mechanics, though melee wasn't ready in time to show.

I'd say it looks damn solid when keeping that in mind.

It was pretty buggy. I had an issue where on the first turn my camera showed nothing but fogged out landscape and none of the buttons would work. And the poor guy next to me had to restart multiple times and after a few minutes they just reboot the computer and it started playing properly.

Also the movement and firing ranges weren't very clear.

But I had a ton of fun. I was honestly nervous about the demo being too bland and just a carbon copy of the tabletop a la Warmachine. My doubts have been eased considerably.

I apparently played very differently from the norm by taking my lance through the forest to the right and then heading up and wound up setting my faster mechs with easy flanking shots to the rear of the Marauder.

What is it with Archers crashing through buildings?

I tend to put my greenhorn recruits in Archers for training, since they only need to walk to a designated spot and press the appropriate missile trigger. These tend to be the 5/6 and 6/7 pilots, who fall on their arses the moment they're on a wet city road. It's surprisingly art-accurate.

What is this supposed to be?

A strider? The Cicada-based shitter spheroid omnimech?

Strider from MW4, basically an Omni update to the Cicada.

That... honestly looks pretty close to the MW4 strider.

Most MechWarriors (especially those who pilot Locusts or Atlases) aren't fucking hobbits.

And last time I checked, even an Elemental is (supposedly) able to fit in and pilot a BattleMech (though I'm not sure if they're actually able to do it while wearing armor or not in canon).

Two minor questions about ammunition: 1; are regular AC/10 ammo and LBX-10 slug ammo interchangeable?
2; if a mech mounts both a MML-5 and a LRM-5, can they share a ton of ammunition?

Hey, some of the MW4 pilots had great lines. I liked the Clanner.

>AFF

>1; are regular AC/10 ammo and LBX-10 slug ammo interchangeable?
No.
>2; if a mech mounts both a MML-5 and a LRM-5, can they share a ton of ammunition?
I'm pretty sure they can't.

Catalyst sold out of all their mech pack boxes by like noon on Thursday. I'm mildly upset.

So I decided to grab some more Alpha Strike cards since it's the only version I've been able to get my friends to play on a regular basis, and I've gotta say, the quality on the Kurita cards is fucking terrible. Some of the cuts are a good 1-2cm off.
Thinking about e-mailing Catalyst and bitching, but I dunno if they'd do shit about it.

No to both, unfortunately.

The answer both ways is no, but I imagine that nobody would object to you houseruling these things for your own games

First off, a Gundam isnt that much larger than a Gargoyle, secondly that atlas is about 40 feet tall. Increasing its height by 30% would make it 52 feet tall, or exactly within the hight range of humanoid assault mech

Yeah, that's what I meant - she was memorable, both because of the way you acquired her, ie. taking a fucking Green Bird star colonel as bondsman, and the way she talked completely differently from the others. The same with Castle, she was your ops officer, always talking on the radio and had an actual personality (mostly hating Clanners) and that cod Nordic accent that made me always picture her having blonde hair, blue eyes and a prim and proper bun.

But the others? I remember the Scotsman, Spirit because she was so terse and shared a callsign with my second-favourite Wing Commander wingman, Blaze and the cowgirl, and even then they were just voices on the radio, not actual "people". Compare them to the Jagged Alliance 2 mercs, for example.

But of course, it's MW4M so everyone always remembers Duncan M.F. Fisher.

HELLO SOLARIS FANS