/btg/ Battletech General!

I love the thought of an entire street lined with armour dealerships like they have for used and new cars these days. Only instead of test driving and buying a Vauxhall Astra you're shopping for a tank.

Now that I think of it, Quickscell distributors really could be everywhere, considering they've spread around so much of the Inner Sphere. A lot of like Vauxhall dealerships are much more common than, say, Jaguar ones.

Picking them up at auction from a failed unit's assets would probably be more likely, just because you're gonna be paying 30-50% of the base price.
Although, I imagine most major mercenary worlds would have dealerships for most of the major arms manufacturers

Probably. Remember that Solaris has a whole virtual underworld on moving 'mechs around. It would make sense that they'd have people there selling equipment given how much gets damaged and lost with regular games.

And it makes sense, especially for the big players like Defiance, Luthien Armor Works, etc. For smaller players they'd send representatives direct.

But as said, impound auctions are also a good bet. Ever been to a police auction? You can get some high-end vehicles and property for a fraction of what they are worth. A lot of Merc units don't get beyond a company size, and probably quite a few fold up, either due to bankruptcy or simply just calling it quits. In the former case, the units are going to get seized, enough to pay off debts, and then re-sold to get a small profit for the seizure.

Big cartels like Ceres Metals and NETC probably work as distributors for other factories, in addition to selling their own stuff.

So is MekHQ/AtB a standalone program or is it a plugin/supplement for megamek?

Both, actually. You play your campaign in MekHQ, which launches Megamek when it's time for butt kicking.

I always found the -3M to be somewhat worthwhile.

So I gave another look on my Jade Falcon binary, and came up with this:

>medium star
Kit Fox B config
Viper Prime
Nova A config
Adder Prime
Black Lanner C config

>"heavy" star
Mad Dog Prime
Warhawk Prime
Summoner Prime or C config
Turkina prime
Night Gyr A config

How it is?
Also I'd like to make a Solhamna star to swap with the heavy star, could I ask for some examples on what to field?

Does it have enough heat sinks to get worth while use out of it's weapons?

>trying megamek
>start with a simple 1v1 vs a bot
>Bot's BV, tons, and cost are 9999
>okay, I guess it's just hiding other players info
>launch game, nothing has spawned for enemy
Did I do this wrong?

Sounds like you're playing with the double-blind rules on? If you had "???? deploys into hex ????" style lines on the deployment screen, you're on double-blind. You only see the enemies once your own units spot them.

I'm using whatever the defaults are.

I think double-blind may have been on by default. Check the game options in the force creation screen (it's "TacOps Double Blind" in the Advanced Rules tab).

So what is the Combines most widespread Assult Mech?

Grand Dragon.

Depends on the era?

Given the numbers they shat them out in through the Succession Wars, possibly the Charger.

If not that, then the Hatamoto once they refit it.

All of them from 3039 to the Dark Age?

From 3039 to the Dark Age it will be the Charger, Stalker, and Hatamoto.

More Chargers and fewer Hatamotos at first, more Hatamotos and fewer Chargers and Stalkers later.

>more Hatamotos

If only they'd plonked DHS in the Hatamoto-Chi. I'd use them like few other 'Mech I love (and maybe replaced the dildo hand with a normal one, but that's neither here or there). The samurai Thug is too cool to not use.

>Precentor Christopher Schmidt: Commander of the ROM forces on Luthien, Schmidt pilots one of the newer 008 variants to deadly effect. Intelligence from O5P indicates that Schmidt is the one most likely responsible for detonating three tactical nuclear bombs within the Luthien Armor Works megaplex, completely destroying the facility and killing an estimated 80,000 people. The First Genyosha has made it a priority to bring down Precentor Schmidt and his Level II Circle ofthe Holy, though the presence of some Manei Domini troops within the unit makes that a difficult mission.

So who was it that destroyed the LAW facility? WoB or BDS?

Black Dragons.

WoB were suspected and would have made a shit ton more sense, but it was the Black Dragons.

I think officially, it's blamed on the Blakist.

Unofficially, I believe the Black Dragons are responsible for it, which is addressed in one of the stories.

It's one of those things that the wider Battletech Universe isn't aware of, like the Snow Ravens being responsible for the decimation of their own genetic repository (an act blamed on Clan Wolverine) or Sun-Tzu being responsible for the assassination of Jeffry Calderon.

>Sun-Tzu being responsible for the assassination of Jeffry Calderon.

huh?

In the Capellan Solution books, Sun-Tzu recalls it as one of the many acts he's done to ensure the success of his Xin-Sheng movements.

Oh. Never read those. Not a fan of Coleman novels.

Wonder what would have happened if the Taurians found out.

I rather like his works about the Capellan Confederation.

As much griping as they get, they really underlay Sun-Tzu's desperation and his struggle with in regaining what his grandfather and mother lost while also combating his personal daemons.

They also make it clearer how Sun-Tzu was able to accomplish much of what he did, such as manipulating the Star League. An act Katherine assisted him with.

Really? I've seen Xin Sheng and all that deconstructed here so much I pretty much dismissed the Capellan Solution books.

Well, Sun-Tzu has many problems that are pointed out in the books.

One of the most pressing is that he is a Liao, meaning he inherits many of the mental deficiencies that are associated with them.

Once, when bad news was delivered to him, he drew a pistol in his throne room and it took every ounce of restraint not to shoot Talon Zhan and one of his other subordinates over their failings.

It' also worth noting his re-annexation of the St Ives Compact did not go entirely according to planned and that his sister Kali nearly derailed it.

The earlier books before the Capellan Solution also elaborate on certain other instances of Capellan success, such as Operation Guerrero.

I believe those point out or imply one reason for Capellan success being that the units in the areas targeted for reconquest took their orders from Tharkad (meaning Katherine) and not New Avalon.

>Once, when bad news was delivered to him, he drew a pistol in his throne room and it took every ounce of restraint not to shoot Talon Zhan and one of his other subordinates over their failings.

I can't see Sunny "All According To Plan" Liao freaking out like that.

>Wonder what would have happened if the Taurians found out.

You know how badly they got BTFO'd by the SUns during the FCCW/Jihad?

Imagine them trying to start shit with the Capellans. Then imagine how badly they would get stomped by JUST AS PLANNED magic.

>One of the most pressing is that he is a Liao, meaning he inherits many of the mental deficiencies that are associated with them.

That all turned out to be Just Pretending so he could make everyone under-estimate him so things would go JUST AS PLANNED even more easily.

>I can't see Sunny "All According To Plan" Liao freaking out like that.

It happens.

When I got all my mechs out to prime them I realized I'm one lance short of six companies. What four ruskie mechs should I get to round out my forces?

Do they have four Ostsols?

>Wonder what would have happened if the Taurians found out.
It would really depend on when they found out. And if we're letting Xin Sheng work it's magic or not

What would it be called there?

What's your favorite government in BattleTech?

Like how it's structured, functions, etc.

Dammit, I wish I know. Do they have mechs labels by weight class?

Hell no

Crap. Then is stupid hunt-and-find time. Sorry.

Look, op used another shit picture AGAIN

Welcome to BattleTech, you must be new here. Get used to it.

The Taurians might have disregarded it entirely depending on whose ears it reached.

Grover Shraplen was questionable so.

Are you freaking kidding me? That one was from the damn TRO itself! Not everything has to be a damn Mona Lisa.

>dialing for a serious tone
Please leave your names, targets and nerve agents after the beep.

Is narc/inarc even remotely viable in the DA? There are a couple of narc and i narc designs that look nice and I was always a big fan of it vs the Clans when I was running a ComStar level III ages ago

Were WoBM soldiers that didn't commit war crimes permitted to join the Republic Armed Forces?

dracs unrelated

What are the most common mechs the FWL has that can sling out a shitload of missiles?

The Apollo, Archer and Long Bow are several.

Archer -4M, aka the platonic ideal of Archer.

Archers, Trebuchets, Longbows and (unfortunately) Crusaders

Whats wrong with a Crusader?

Speaking of the FWL, what mechs do they have that use physical weapons? Seems like they have the fewest of the Houses.

Maybe they realize it makes more sense to stand off and shoot.

Their tendency to explode

Well, the Neanderthal is one. The Violator is another one.

But it seems only Regulus makes heavy use of those.

Sarath, too. But generally, what said. Although in BT, they're less than half-right - short range is king for actually killing things.

Which gets back to the thing about C3 makes more sense for the FWL than the DCMS.

SHORT RANGE FOR EVERYTHING!

ECM is is pretty common and NARC/iNARC has always struggled to be relevant.

So mostly no.

I've been saying this for years at this point, but it's never gonna get retconned, so...

Every /btg/RO FWL design has C3i

You know, this gave me an interesting large-scale campaign idea.
Picture this: the taurians find out that sun-tzu is behind the murder quickly, before their troops have even reached St.Ives. Their military promptly flips, removes sharplan in a coup, tears up the trinity alliance and starts plotting revenge. The players are the officers of the regiments in transit, and until the new government figures out what to do, they're basically on their own, and the campaign starts from there

There's a Grand Titan with a sword. Someone joked that they ditched the Optimus Prime in order to go Obari? Was a reference to some super robot anime.

Let's not forget the Yeoman

That Grand Titan is built to match Optimus Prime nearly exactly though. Just one with a sword, rather than an axe.

This is your daily reminder that Regulans made Optimus Prime fire nuclear weapons.

So giant robot Anabasis? I'd play it

Hey /btg/, I'm making a themed lance for the Civil War, it's all assaults using only humanoids above 80 tons, so far I've got an Atlas, Akuma, and Kodiak. What's a good fourth?

I'm a fan of the pillager. May be a but hunchbacked for you, tho'.

So what is the benefit of c3 systems? Especially ic3.

Yeah, I'm trying to fit the aesthetic of titans stomping their way downfield, so the more humanoid the better. I'm sure you can guess which side of the war I'm on.

The Banshee works

Are there any variants which are brawlers? If I remember correctly most of the good Banshees rely on their PPC's and GR's.

This is your daily reminder that Herb said it was an IC rumour that was wrong.

bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=25275.0

If no-one has ECM and if nobody ganks your master units and if you're not balancing by BV your units should be shooting at medium range most of the time with the rare dip into short range.

In practice, there's going to be ECM, everyone will try to gank your master units, and you'll be wasting anywhere between 20% and 60% of your force's BV on something useless.

-3Q, arguably -6S because of how the HGR works, 8S.

is c3i better then?

and just seeing if i got this right. i have a crab with c3i and a king crab with c3i, i move the crab closer to the enemy and use it's range and line of sight for the king crab's weapons right?

3Q seems to undergunned for civil war and 8S is too late for our time. 6S has potential though, are there any other suggestions? How is the Executioner D?

>is c3i better then?

It's a bit less vulnerable to fuck-ups than normal C3 because it doesn't require Masters to function.

On the other hand, a 30% BV hike on all your units would let you leave your spotter(s) at the base 4/5 skills and then upgrade the heavy hitters to at least 3/5, possibly even 2/5.

It's too over-costed at the moment for me to really recommend.

>and just seeing if i got this right. i have a crab with c3i and a king crab with c3i, i move the crab closer to the enemy and use it's range and line of sight for the king crab's weapons right?

You use the range from the Crab, but both it and the King Crab need to have LoS to the target for it to work.

If the Crab has LoS and the King Crab doesn't, the King Crab can't fire on the target.

If the Crab doesn't have LoS and the King Crab does, the King Crab can still fire but has to count the range from its own hex to the target rather than from the Crab.

>How is the Executioner D?

Guns are OK but the thing has 20 points of side torso armour, Even the Thor does better than that there.

I find most of the Executioner alt configs a bit lacklustre. Config A is the best of them, IMO.

thanks m8

I think I'll go with the Executioner A for the MG's so I can take care of infantry more easily. I wouldn't put it past my friend to try an infantry gauss-wall.

Assuming they hadn't engaged in their (perhaps not unwarranted) aggression against the Suns, could the Taurians have built a modernized military with Trinity Alliance aid?

Was the Taurian military actually seeing any of the benefits of their alliance with the Capellans and Canopians?

>Assuming they hadn't engaged in their (perhaps not unwarranted) aggression against the Suns, could the Taurians have built a modernized military with Trinity Alliance aid?
If the capellans didn't hose them to death, sure. But then, honestly they could have done it without their help, though it would have taken them longer
>Was the Taurian military actually seeing any of the benefits of their alliance with the Capellans and Canopians?
That's the thing, they really weren't. They might well have done better if they'd signed that deal with St.Ives and continued their industrial espionage/open market tech buying plan

>Assuming they hadn't engaged in their (perhaps not unwarranted) aggression against the Suns, could the Taurians have built a modernized military with Trinity Alliance aid?

This really depends on how fast you're thinking about it being and how much Capellan dick they were willing to suck to get there.

In canon they weren't really willing to suck much dick and weren't happy with how the deal was set up to benefit the Magistracy. But then the Magistracy was much more enthusiastic with Sun-Tzu's cock, both figuratively and literally.

>Was the Taurian military actually seeing any of the benefits of their alliance with the Capellans and Canopians?

Yes. They got access to a bunch of tech in the 3060s that they wouldn't have had, either at all, that early, or to that extent, without foreign aid.

Considering how much they were getting out of it for a relatively low investment they should have stuck with it more. Mostly they're getting fucked over in other areas like being fixated on restoring the TCS Vandenburg to a combat-ready state despite it costing them billions, them not having the infrastructure to maintain it, and it being a fucking Vincent Mk. 39 of all things.

So where do you think they'd have been in 67 without the capellans?

As little as half their upgrade rate (unless they were sensible and spent the TCS Vandenburg money on on upgrade kits and imports) and maybe a regiment smaller (again unless they spent their money sensibly).

It's hard to say. Even before Shraplen and Tharn the Taurians were fond of cutting their noses off to spite their faces. Plus in that era everyone but the FWL was scrambling for all the gear they could get so it's arguable as to how much more the Taurians could have gotten their hands on. The FWL was busy laughing its way to the bank.

Difficult to call it exactly. It really depends on how the import thing worked out for them. I would say the baseline epuld be probably most of the 3050 stuff (LBX-10s, ERLLs, pulses, XLs). Probably not electronics, certainty not C3, and endo a distinct maybe. None of the tech introduced in the FMs, except MRMs (if they actually wanted them, and frankly MRMs always seemed more of a periphery kind of idea than a drac one), and probably LBX-2s and-5s, because I don't see them being any more complicated than the -10.
I mean, that's on par with Kressly, who are even smaller and lower resources, but can build the Bandersnatch by then
If they did well in the import business (presumably through the continuation of jeffery calderon's interest in trsde with the Sums), then MAYBE GECM and perhaps the LBX and ultra 20s, and MAYBE the LGR and RAC, but probably not

At any rate, most of their refits would look like the 3050 -M machines, but a bit lower tech.

Question Veeky Forums, for fluff for making a company. A lot of the clan field manuals mention light clusters, like Hussar clusters, being made of "light to heavy fast mechs". What counts as a fast heavy for the clans? Is a Mad Cat or Loki fine or does it need to be full Linebacker?

Maybe they could have gotten Blakist aid in exchange for a certain percentage of their war-material going to the Blakist cause (pre-Jihad of course)?

I feel like 5/8 would be the bare minimum for a clan fast heavy, with 6/9 (or more likely 5/8 with MASC) designs predominantly

If I were writing the periphery plot for the 60s/jihad, I'd actually do it backwards from that, with the MoC being the one to go WoB (they had the highest degree of WoB influence in p2e, and it makes a good explanation for their magical cyborg supercommandos outta nowhere; they're MD on TDY), with Fonctstar propping up the taurians (who had no WoB influence at all before FM:U) as an attempt to counterweight WoB influence in the periphery

Pretty much what happened, I think.. The Cyrano was like that and though it's not explicitly stated I get the feeling it's what is implied.

Most Clan front-liners are 5/8.