/btg/ Battletech General!

>tfw most of ROM and their special forces Light of Mankind was unaccounted for after the war

If you had a choice, which of these two Thunderbolt 3050 upgrades would you rather pilot?

Death Commandoes.

More 1337 than anyone else since forever, even though their most notable contributions to the lore are being hilariously BTFO during the 4th SW and having Loren Jaffray decide being Scottish was cooler than being a Death Commando (and being allowed to live afterwards because, haha, seriously, why would a Northwind Highlander ever face consequences for anything?).

>LRT's

No sir, you can't make me go into the water!

>torps
hell naw

Nah. Death commandos are basically a bunch of mech jocks/assassins. Every DEST yokel can pilot everything from a dropship on down to Battle Armor. Way more flexible for special forces missions.

WoB wins the actual spy game hands down though. They are ridiculously better than anyone else at infiltration.

Oh crap. I meant to put on LRMs. Oh man. Just imagine regular missiles.

Standard engine variant, I'd rather have that little bit of extra durability than the few armor points and 2 extra heat capacity the other one picks up.

Then the second one. XL's are for faggots, assaults and glass hammers. Not muh Thud. Though I'd probably drop some of the ML spam for sinks or more MG's or a flamer or something.

But space ninjas aren't tacticool, they're just plain cool.

Tacticool has some particular associations with it.

>why would a Northwind Highlander ever face consequences for anything

Honestly I've always found their reality-warping bubble more annoying than any other faction's.

>the only artists CGL will pay on time are shitty ones obsessed with Cowadooty
fml senpai

Damnit Taylor, we have to stop meeting like this...

There's two types of DEST.

Some are just better infantry, and get assigned in numbers to every Drac front-line regiment (yes really,m this is actually a thing).

Then there are the really really tiny numbers of super duper badasses like Michael Ryan and company, who are cross-trained in a number of areas.

I think part of it is the authors not having a clear idea on what DEST is supposed to be but still.

All that aside, the DC have retardedly broken special rules and Loren Coleman in their corner so good luck arguing anyone else is better. Except maybe the Ebon Magistrate if Kit is around.

Also I vote we call them le ebin magistrate from here on.

>artemis
No thanks M8. I'll keep my -7M, even if it doesn't have the cheesball swaythud ML array

>Imagine a mech that you think looks ugly
>Now find and post a pic that makes it look good.

Huh... I don't think there really *is* a way to make the Bushwhacker look good.

That bushwacker looks kinda like an off-brand Cauldron-Born, actually, which is an improvement

Don't talk shit about about my mechfu, faggot.

>That bushwacker looks kinda like an off-brand Cauldron-Born, actually, which is an improvement

I went by what they look like in MechCommander and photographs of the actual miniatures. As much as I like some of his other work, I don't really care for Duane Loose's illustration in TRO 3058.

I meant an improvement on the bushwacker, looking more like a cauldron-born

I'm also partial to the 'Wacker. Really any mech with the overall "jet cockpit on legs" look.

Galaxy's thickest flashbulb

It's a cartoon show design. The cover of TRO 3058 and the mini are what it looks most like.

>Question if you set rating to CO you get a numerical rating, istead of an A,B, F etc rating.

>Is there a way to compare those values? because atb rules have some rulings that are based on the alphabetical values.
I'm probably going to edit that to stick with FM:Mercs Revised, because I haven't tinkered enough the Campaign Operations stuff enough, and I forgot it switched to a straight number, rather than a letter and a number.

The actual entry art is the primary art source.

>The actual entry art is the primary art source.

No it's not. The TV show came out before it and the old toys too. Look it up.

>laughing TPTB
The TRO entry art is almost always the primary source for how the unit looks. I should know, since I gave the Bushwacker No Torso Twist because of it. Though that may have ended up getting removed.

>The actual entry art is the primary art source.

I know it's hard to keep track of "what goes where" (unless it's something I've been drawing for a long time, like Locusts/Ostalls and Stingers/Wasps/PhoenixHawks/Valkyries), but I suspect there is quite a bit of leeway when you wish - even subconsciously - that the mech you were drawing looked a little less derpy. That, and if you're making a toy that has to accommodate an action figure and launch little plastic missiles, you have some additional mechanical concerns that wouldn't apply in a fictionalized wargame at a much smaller scale.

To me, the bigger plastic toy and the miniature in Muninn's photograph only seem to have most of the weapons in the same place as the illustraion inside TRO 3058; everything else looks more like the cover of the TRO.

Of particular note is the AC/10 on the *inside* of the right arm. That just seems weird to me. Most mechs that immediately come to mind for me have the weapon on the top, the outside, held in the hand, or replacing the hand entirely!

A ton of TRO 3058 is collection of random TRO shit from previous scenario books. Even the 1st Somerset Strikers book with the OG canon Bushwacker predates it. You're not stupid enough to think the Starslayer or the Devastator are primary TRO3058 are you?

So, considering every piece of art for the bushwacker, including the minis, every video game appearance and it's appearance in everything in the two years prior to TRO3058 shows it a certain way and that one piece of shit art in TRO3058 is the sole exception (the cover even contradicts it), then it is most certainly not the primary source.

Also, it never had torso twist in the original design either so I don't know what you're babbling about there.

>offset cockpit
But...why?

>But...why?

As long as you don't use it on every single mech, it looks cool.

When in doubt, store all the ammo in your thighs, despite having easy critical space for elsewhere.

Despite me not liking the toyish joints on that Summoner, Shimmy has really leveled up in the painting department. Fantastic rendering.

To each their own, I guess

It looks cool.

It only works because the setting doesn't have any animated adaptations or real simulators, of course (where the offset cockpit screws up all sorts of things for the pilot/viewer/player) but it's a giant robot in the end.
Whatever makes it a little more unique and fun to look at is okay in my book.

>the setting doesn't have any animated adaptations

Wait... what?

youtube.com/watch?v=YqzEssjkMeU

He also said the offset cockpit will screw up things when people adjust just fine to it in planes and automobiles.

Supernova 3 makes no sense with both ER PPCs and ER LLs when it could be boating 5 million ER mediums for better damage per ton and heat efficiency.

you must Nova Cat harder

>when it could be boating 5 million ER mediums for better damage per ton and heat efficiency.
Isn't that true of everything, though?

All in all the Supernova fails a being a Nova that is super, or even being super at all, at least in the canon versions. 3/5/3 and a SFE is fun though.

I'm terrible at vision quests and doing drugs though.
Well, it is supposed to have inspired the creation of the Nova, which is the definition of ER medium boat, kinda surprised that one of its 4 canon versions isn't.

I'm seeing references to so called "Lightning Companies" in both AFFS and LAAF service but can't seem to find a definition of them anywhere. Can someone clear that up for me?

Short version: before the 4th Succession War, the LCAF was basically a slow-moving wall of steel of big 'Mechs Once Hanse got into their business, the LCAF formed companies of light and medium 'Mechs, trained them in a more mobile style of combat, and named them Lightning Companies.

Long answer: the 4th Succession War Atlas lays it down.

Are the Confederation and Combine on good terms?

Last time I read of them having contact, it devolved into a skirmish.

And which state has the better armed military by the time of the Dark Age?

They're on anywhere from neutral to barely hostile terms. It depends upon the era. Around the Fourth SW era, they had a common foe -- the FedSuns, so they tended to not interact much. Beyond that, from the Clan Invasion to the Civil War, they were neutral to distrustful, mostly thanks to Theodore replacing the hardliners and getting more friendly with the FedSuns, while Sun-Tzu stepped into power and increased the state's nationalism spree.

The funniest thing to come out of the Legion of Doom that was the Kapteyn Accords has to be pic related.

What I don't understand is why the hell didn't the purple birds import ERLLs from their Kapteyn pals, the DC, for their Marauder-5Ms. I would love a -5M with twin ERLL, twin MPL and the LB-10, but now it's sort of the antithesis of what a Marauder is supposed to be.

In the first Succession Wars they fought sometimes, in Dark Age they allied to attack the RotS and FedSuns

The FWL is kinda known for production of ER Lasers, user.

Was this the situation during the run-up to the Clan Invasion? When I think of the FWL, I usually think of their normal LLs. I just checked Tech Manual and saw that the ERLL was reintroduced by the Dracs.

In any case, the pulse laser Marauder is an abomination unto nature and should have been an ERLL version from the start, damn it.

>Was this the situation during the run-up to the Clan Invasion?

Yes. Even early on in it.

>Was this the situation during the run-up to the Clan Invasion?
The situation in the run up to the invasion is no ERLL's at all. You won't find a bunch of references to specific foundtech minus TSM in the old material at that age, though you do get things in the invasion/post-invasion.

Tech recovery retcons are basically just a couple tables in Tech Manual and Sword and Dragon which has prototype weapons instead of the real thing. So not any sort of meat there.

Kapteyn never really did anything either. The FWL was already selling to the Dracs and the Dracs were already selling to the Caps. Well, I guess the one thing it did was keep Andurien and Oriente from finishing what Hanse started.

So I'm trying out an "Against the Bot" campaign in Megamek but I'm still unclear on what factors determine deployment in a mission - it seems that the full company never deploys together, but only one lance is available at the start and the remaining lances reinforce on turns 6-9. Is there a reason for this I'm missing?

Yes, the initial lance is deployed at the start, and the rest are considered reinforcements that deploy based on a formula involving a 12 turn count and walk speed. You can change that in the MegaMek deployment screen so that all of your mechs deploy at once.

The number of lances required for operations during the mission depends on the number of 'Mechs in your TO&E - if you have a standard company (12 'Mechs in 3 x 4 lances) you need one lance, with the others ready for reinforcement. If you have a battalion (36 'Mechs, 9 lances) you need 6 lances deployed for fighting/scouting/defending etc. Think of them as the units actually out on ops whilst the others hang back at the base.

When you reinforce the lance in actual contact, the number of rounds depends on several factors: the lance leader's skill in Strategy, the number of jump-capable 'Mechs in the reinforcing lance and their average speed. A lance of fast, jumpy 'Mechs with a leader with a good Strategy deploys really fast.

Is there any new info on the game?

Beta starts in a few weeks

Is it confirmed Taurians will be villains and Canopians will be allies? I hope so.

Basically yes. That was confirmed awhile ago.

Will any of the Great Houses be involved or is it a Periphery affair?

From what has been posted, it appears to be a Periphery affair, with maybe the Houses having minor presence. The story seems to focus on the Aurigan Coalition's internal political squabbles as the ruling house (supported by the Canopians) was ousted by rivals backed by the Taurians and the PC merc command is hired by the rightful ruler to help out and take back the throne.

>that cargo manifest

my sides

Apparently the original plan had multiple paths, but they ended up cutting all but the canopian solution
Ah well, maybe MW:5'll give us the sandbox that everyone's been hoping for

Source on that? I haven't seen that statement and I've been keeping up on their updates. I'd like to see where they said that, so I can be officially disappointed.

I'm going to be entirely honest with you. That letter is one of the things that made me into a fan of the purple bird.

I think it's more like they talked about things early on in such a way as to suggest multiple storylines or 'quests', but later confirmed that there'd be only the one, and sandbox only if you didn't like it

sandbox only it is then

Too bad they're not gonna include mod support

Updated the instructions. Let me know if I've missed anything else.

mediafire.com/file/nfo2vihjla01hhy/Against_the_Bot_Instructions_v1-5.pdf

like that's gonna stop people. didn't stop them for MW4:Mercs.

That map makes me think BT would be better off if it had a jump node system like FreeSpace did instead of the system it has now.

IIRC they are not going to release mod tools like Shadowrun's, but mods will not be actively forbidden

>Freespace
Mah fellow dark-painted interceptor

Still going to have routes defined by the "within 30 light years" limit of Kearny-Fuchida drives and sunlight to charge.Or at least they should. Be disappointing if they don't.

>but they ended up cutting all but the canopian solution

Wait, what? Boo.

>to the sandbox

Which is still a shame, because if any community has the autistical concentration to produce mods like some of the amazing shit for FNV, it's the battletech one

I'd be down to help however I can, although that's probably fuckall other than maybe some voice acting and playtesting.

A jump point system like the ones in Wing Commander or the Vorkosigan saga is one of my favourite scifi FTL systems, but there's a big problem (explicitly pointed out in the Vorkosigan books, IIRC) - when they're the only points you can FTL in, you only have to guard them with sufficient force to make invasions impossible or at least so costly as to make a potential aggressor think twice.

If there's one thing I fucking love about Bujold as a science fiction writer is that she actually sits back and thinks about the socioeconomic implications for all the scifi tech she comes up with. It isn't like some universes where the reader asks "why don't they do X with miracle tech Y", because Bujold already thought of it and addressed it one way or another in one of her books.

Right, but if I choose to deploy a whole company, which is considered the "starting lance"? It always seems to default to my most lightweight lance.

It depends on what mission type they are on. A lance on Defend tasking has the smallest chance of a fight, and one on Scout has the biggest, IIRC.

Freelancer, too. And it had the advantage of the trade lane system. It also had "pirate points" -- jump holes way off the beaten path, and mostly used by criminal elements, so if you wanted to use them to get around security or navies, you'd have to risk dealing with hostile elements anyways, plus the significant time spent simply getting there.

In most populated systems, you could go from jump gate -> trade lane (repeat as many times as the system dictates) -> jump gate in a few minutes. Use a jump hole and you'd have to burn for 10-20 minutes at least, and there's no guarantee you wouldn't stumble upon an enemy patrol or something.

The trick is that without mod tools, reverse-engineering and implementing anything that needs scripting, most especially quest scripting, but even relatively simple stuff like adding custom gear to equipment lists, say adding mechs on anything other than a 1:1 skin-only replacement basis is incredibly difficult. It was managed to a very limited extent with fallout 4 before the tools came out, but even that relied very heavily on the similarities to the engines in FNV/3 and skyrim.
If we're very lucky, they'll release some sort of DLC and whatever implimentation system they use to pass that stuff in could be used by modders

>If we're very lucky, they'll release some sort of DLC and whatever implimentation system they use to pass that stuff in could be used by modders
So like ME3?

Yo NEA.
Do you have any opinion on giving ASF internal bomb bays?
Is that a good idea or a waste of tonnage?

If you're doing five tons, it's worth it for nuclear reasons. Less than that seems like it'd be highly dependent on tonnage

I was thinking more like 12 tons.
Two six-ton passes, according to internal bomb bay rules. Or 2 AAA and an LAA, or two ASM.

How heavy of a fighter are we talking about? What thrust profile were you thinking of?

I have mixed feelings. I've been wanting to get into the Periphery states by reading their backgrounds in the Major Periphery States handbook. So far it hasn't been impressive. The Taurians are paranoid impulsive "sovereign citizen" types with no luck, and the Canopians seem to live in a perfect little universe where dictatorship is democracy, slavery is freedom, and "actually the nobility is great because you can invent hot sauce to earn the right to legally rape people."

I'm hoping the Outworlds or Marians are more interesting.

The background fluff on the Rim Worlds Republic was pretty coo.

>Canopians seem to live in a perfect little universe where dictatorship is democracy,

Democracy is dictatorship anyway, so this follows naturally.

>slavery is freedom,

Only if you voluntarily sell yourself into slavery, in which case you have nobody to blame but yourself. Or if you get picked as a spouse by the nobility, of which there's like 1,000 total in a nation of several billion people. Big fucking deal.

>and "actually the nobility is great because you can invent hot sauce to earn the right to legally rape people."

That is great, actually. So what's the problem with Canopus? At least they aren't paranoid inbred hicks like the Taurians.

I'm not big on partisan factionfagging either, so this sort of apologism makes the Canopians seem more unimpressive. It's not required to nail your flag to the mast, you know?

50-75 tons, and 6/9 or 7/11

The basic tenets of the faction are pretty unenticing, and further explanation from the factionfags tends to only dig the hole deeper.