/btg/ BattleTech General

Closer to altenmarkt. Its undergoing an ice age.

>outdated

Doesn't really exist, except for primitives.

Come on, user. This is Battletech. There is no outdated because people throw shitfits for it.
The 200 year old shit is just as combat-worthy as anything freshly rolled off the assembly line.

Miho in a Cyclops/Battlemaster as the second seater while sleepyhead drives the thing.
Radio girl gets a Raven. Might as well use that amateur radio operator license.
Yukari gets a workhorse, regardless of which.
Flower girl gets something like a Thunderbolt to round it out.

>There is no outdated because people throw shitfits for it.

More like because that's the entire basis of battletech in the first place. Rugged and reliable>fancy and finicky.

That's not ice. The dirt is just pale gray.

The series has an extreme problem with holding onto stuff like a severely mental collector.

The game realistically needs only 10% of the mechs it currently contains.

What it has a problem with, is bringing stuff back from extinction for no fucking good reason. 3039 retcons and Dallas Core just compounded all those problems ridiculously. Plenty of things died off naturally, but because of production being destroyed and production numbers being pretty small in the first place instead of them being obsoleted. Also has a problem especially in the DA of making what are basically just new variant designations and giving them different chassis designations where in the old days you'd just slap a new number on it.

Thats what the later eras are for. While a SL mech will be about as gud as a Late Secession War mech, a dark age mech is going to shit all over a SL mech due to BV bloat.

You're all right.

I'm serious! The need to make new 'mechs to sell cool TROs is pretty bad now, especially when there are *hordes* of mechs from the New Dallas core that have little reason to exist again. It would be one thing if problems were ironed out and it was reproduced due to cost and turnaround, but this game needs DEAD 'mechs, bad- one's with those nice "extinct" and "obsolete" quirks on em'.

>a dark age mech is going to shit all over a SL mech due to BV bloat.

Ironically, most DA original mechs were garbage because stuff like ballistics worked differently in clicktech where AC2's and stuff were really good. They had to retcon secondary variants in for a ton of them or even do complete overhauls. The original Roku and Kozo were insanely trash. Pitiful things like the Violator and Targe are pure unfiltered Wizkids DA.

That's like 90% of the purpose for making a new tier of tech for 3250 that makes regular Battlemechs and clan tech look like primitives. Just gotta wait to see how they implement it. They better really bust their ass on TRO:3250 because it's a make or break thing.

There's plenty of room for the designs we have in battletech, without extincting them from play. "Extinct" is retarded, there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to field the equivalent of, say, a Royal Marauder in 3059, the technology's all there.

What we need, is to do away with this "everyone gets everything" mentality, and make stronger associations between designs and factions. You could even drill further down, and make regional associations within factions. You see a Timber Wolf? You're pretty goddamned sure you're fighting Clan Wolf. Templar? Probably a Capellan March unit. Sunder?

If they hit the reset button and drag us back to a double or low triple digit number of design options, then every faction is going to feel like every other faction, and the only difference between them on the battlefield will be whose colors they're painted in.

I don't disagree from a philosophical standpoint, but I would note that BT has always had an issue with factional favouritism and I have no faith in CGL's ability to make every faction worthwhile.

Do you have faith in CGL's ability to do anything other than disappoint us?

I sure as fuck don't. and I'd hate to see Battletech forever strangled by their inability to do it justice.

Really, the further you go down the extreme of "there are too many designs available" the closer and closer you get to the modern day paradigm where you've got a single digit number of options per faction, and if you ask me, it's boring. As much as I love some designs, I wouldn't have much interest in fielding a whole battalion of them at once.

Four Abrams Tanks might be more realistic to field, but it's less interesting than a Marauder, a Rifleman, and two Jagermechs.

Anyone here create homebrew quirks for their custom designs?

>and make stronger associations between designs and factions
I agree, Davion should get all the cool and good designs while everyone else gets complete shit, that way everyone knows if they're fighting some irrelevant battle against some trash house or about to get obliterated by Davions.

Or maybe there's enough designs to go around to make sure everybody gets some cool stuff that performs well. Why the fuck the lyrans get the Devastator AND the Nightstar, AND the Thunder Hawk is beyond me and completely counter to what I suggest.

Be far cooler if you saw a Nightstar, and knew it was a Combine mech. Saw a Devastator and knew it was from either half of the FedCom. Saw a Thunder Hawk and knew that it was Purple Burd (I mean, it even has hawk in the name!). Pillager? Already strongly associated with the CapCon. King Crab? Comstar/Blake on the move.

>Why the fuck the lyrans get the Devastator AND the Nightstar, AND the Thunder Hawk is beyond me and completely counter to what I suggest.

Because we're white and you people aren't.

I suppose it's a good thing that Battletech isn't a faction-based game then.

I dunno, kinda retarded to have them and not use them if you ask me.

All the goddamn time.

say something nice about the spider 5V

Its nice to see a version that maximizes those accurate medium lasers.

You did that last thread

That sounds kinda neat.

I think there's enough units in BT that a variant being produced by multiple factions can be a rarity.

did what last thread?

Does anyone have a painted version of the Warhansa Marauder knockoff? I hate trying to get a feel for what the mechs look like when their pictures are unpainted resin.

in mekhq is it possible to have half your force on one contract and half on another? I see an option in briefing that lets me select which contract my lance deploys too. I don't know how you would split your force and move it around though.

In theory yes, but I've never been able to figure out how.

...

What in the shit is happening on the booru? Where are these being uploaded from and how can we kill it with fire?

You and the Marauder noseart, NEA. I still break out my ComGuard Marauder and check it out once in awhile (used to have it on a shelf, but had to pack it up due to construction; haven't had a chance to set the L3 back up since).

I for one accept our new anime overlords.

But seriously there is nothing wrong with more diverse Battletech art so fuck off.

There are many things wrong with that shit, starting with being mech tans, and ending with it's retarded. If it was actual mechs with the girls, sure whatever, but no. Hell the "Raven" doesn't even look like one.

>Stop liking things I don't like

Yes that is exactly what I'm saying. Contain it to the booru where no one else has to see it.

Well I need to sleep so this will be the last post from me for now

Share them, quircks were a great idea.

Hey guys, I got a question about tabletop.

Just wondering if you need to roll multiple times for weapon systems in the same body part.

For example, the Hunchback HBK-4P has six Medium lasers in the RT, so would I roll six times with the possibility of each laser hitting a different part. Or to a roll a single time and have them all hit the same place?

Thanks beforehand

nigga are you gay or something?
mechs and anime girls go together like eggnog on Christmas
I bet you don't even like eggnog you lil fukboi

Why is best faction being lead be worse house Veeky Forums?

You roll for six times for the six Medium lasers. in TT every weapon fired gets to roll to hit and then location.

Because best boy Lester missed one.

I was reading the last 3 or so threads and I swear this place keeps getting weebier and weebier.

Here watch this motherfucker instead:
youtube.com/watch?v=cwiDiwIeXnI

How we feelin' about the Bullshark?

iqdb is offline, SauceNAO didn't find anything, Google is as crap with line art as it has always been.

Seriously, people. Where are they from?

As many as was posted on the /gerg/ thread on /yg/ were transferred to the booru I think yesterday. The guy who runs the bootu has been busy taking care of some crap and hasn't been able to tag for a while. They should be within -I think- the first ten or so pages of the booru.

Also Shadow Cat is love.

...

I like putting nose art on Mechs. Makes them more distinct. And it's easier to tell them apart when you've got a ton of the same chassis; I've got 4 unseen Shadow Hawks in 2 lances of Canopians, for example, and so putting artwork on 3 of them helps people tell them apart (since nobody ever seems to look at the damn NUMBERS on the things).

Also, Marauders have that big undetailed area. That's something that's an increasing issue with Mech design; the more "greeblies" and panel lines they put on Mechs to make them look all "technical", the harder it is to put artwork on them. Even when using stuff like decal softener to make the decals conform better, the panel lines still make it harder to make out the artwork; you want big flat surfaces for Mech art, and those are getting rarer on minis.

>How we feelin' about the Bullshark?

...what?

> That's something that's an increasing issue with Mech design; the more "greeblies" and panel lines they put on Mechs to make them look all "technical", the harder it is to put artwork on them.

Same goes for doing MWO recolorations; I can work around the 'grime' but trying to fit things on panel lines is a mess - or flat out impossible.

And, one last Clan-tech Super Urbie because I'm bored and easily amused.

Should I put spotlights on the shoulders of the Super Urbie? I'm thinking of attacking the arms and making them more optional, just to get a look with twin guns or something.

Well I added the 'mecha_musume' tag to the anthro mechs I could find. That should help filter them in or out. There is so much untaged shit on there right now.

Another thank you to Inker for doing the Talos!

I was on a roll tagging a few days back, but I got a new computer and had to take care of a lot of crap. I'm determined as hell to get everything in order. I'll just take time.

Thanks for everyone that already helped so far!

You have 10 seconds to list your favorite:

>Drac mech

>Drac aerospace fighter

>Drac battle armour

>Drac vehicle (tank, apc, etc)

>Drac regiment

>Drac anything
Dead.

Thug

Shilone I guess? Not very familiar with aerospace by faction.

Zooch, I guess. Kage's would be fucking awesome in AToW, but they are just so disappointing in BT proper.

Scarborough Trio

Ryuken and Ghost Regiments, Arkab Legions honorable mention

>pussy juice cookies

Das hot.

>Drac mech
DRAGON. And it's many spinoffs. Panther and Jenner are pretty much my favorite intro light designs. Hitotsume Kozo is quickly becoming my favorite DA design.

>Drac aerospace fighter
Kamikaze, banzai. I actually have very little aerospace experience so I couldn't tell you.
>Drac battle armour
Kage is bretty good at being annoying.

>Drac vehicle (tank, apc, etc)
The salad shooter consistently delivers.

>Drac regiment
I always liked the ronin/night sky logo of the Genyosha, but the Nightstalkers and the legion of vega are cool too.

Hatamoto-chi, because if you insist on Charger/samurai meta-cosplay you should at least get a decent mech in the bargain.

Aerospace is for cluster bomb trucks so I don’t care to weigh in. Get an informed opinion from somebody here.

Saladin is the Way/Truth/Light. It’s the vehicle of a warrior, requiring both skill and bravery to employ. I’ll have no of the C3 LRM carriers hiding behind hills nonsense. Teddy K. Davion is NOT my Coordinator.

>Regiment
Pic related

Don't forget to remove "tagme" from stuff you've tagged.
Otherwise, the system simply can't work.

>Drac battle armor
Do I look like some gay furry commie or a toaster worshipper? The Drac-est BA is the DEST Kage variant with jump 3 and small lasers for everyone, but you should take infantry TAGs in squad dispersion instead to make use of those LRM carriers user was banging on about.

Does /btg/ like Warrior Houses?

They feel like a Drac kinda thing but somehow they fit the Liaoist state anyway.

>>Drac mech
Hatamoto-chi, with DHS

>>Drac aerospace fighter
Shilone

>>Drac battle armour
Kage because of its role in Task Force Serpent

>>Drac vehicle (tank, apc, etc)
Scarborough trio

>>Drac regiment
I really like the Genyosha and Ryuken. But it is a little annoying how these premier units are always tied to sue mercs in some way. Tabletop wise I usually roll with an AU 5th Sword of Light.

Basic ACs aren't bad if you allow them to rapidfire like a UAC at a slight penalty

>They feel like a Drac kinda thing

They all have Japanese names aside from Lu Sann and were, likewise, formed by Japanese.

Really, though. You can't expect weeaboos from the 80s (and thus without internet to check things) to know fuck all about China. They saw Chinese characters in anime, got the bright idea to use Chinese as the next baddies in the game. They couldn't know what a Chinese name looks like, hence why they used Japanese ones.

They're built after the sort of kung-fu schools you see in Jackie Chan movies. Japan never really did this sort of thing.

Usually you roll each weapons individually. You can link weapons I'm the same section and roll those to hit together but I think you still roll the hit location separately.

>You can link weapons I'm the same section and roll those to hit together
I've never heard of this rule. Can you provide a citation? I'm interested in reading up on it.

Not that user, but mind immediately went back the TIC's (Targeting Interlock Circuits) mentioned in the rules for Solaris VII. I see a paragraph about them on page 37 of the Mechwarrior's Guide to Solaris VII, but all that does is fire multiple weapons with the push of a single button.

I can't recall the actual (i.e. non-Mechwarrior) Solaris VII rules for TIC's that were in the boxed set, as I never played very much of that version of Battletech.

I take it they don't all hit the same location though, do they? It's gonna be a bitch to explain how you fire the original T-bolt's triple MLs and have one hit the head, another the left leg and another the right arm with one pull of the trigger.

>I take it they don't all hit the same location though, do they?

Like I said, I don't remember the "regular" Solaris VII rules in detail, but no, they don't all hit the same location. Could you imagine a mech like the Paladin with its ring of seven arm-mounted machine guns automatically hitting the same location in tandem, *and* being able to fire every turn without generating heat? The only reason for introducing TIC's at all is that in the role-playing world of Mechwarrior, your pilot only has a limited amount of time to press buttons, flip switches, and pull levers; Steve Jackson's Car Wars has similar rules for linked weapons and triggers.

It would probably make sense for a Thud pilot to put all three ML's on one TIC when fighting in Solaris VII, but on any larger scale than one-on-one gladiatorial combat would really just make the game needlessly more complex.

>It's gonna be a bitch to explain how you fire the original T-bolt's triple MLs and have one hit the head, another the left leg and another the right arm with one pull of the trigger

I've always thought that weapons never fire simultaneously. A small laser has the energy to power new york for a few years or some shit, and it's a very bad practice to draw that much power from the same reactor at the same time.

>...what?
nevermind, nothing to see here, move along

...

How do you like to build your forces? Do you use a RAT or pick each unit individually?

RATs are love, RATs are life.

RATs are complete and irredeemable shit for assembling a balanced and competitive force unless you are from one of the favoured factions. You also usually need to ignore the fluff to make something decent.

Selective choices all the way.

Komodo
Samurai
Kanazuchi
Tokugawa Medium Tank
Legions of Vega

I agree on the first part but not the second. Mostly because RAT's focus on new toy syndrome and aren't accurate. Fluff historical style battles are the best. But you need both people to play that way. If one player brings a faggoty munch list, then it ruins the whole deal.

I pick whatever units I like the most and don't bother with munchkin shit.

battletech in general is shit for balanced and competitive forces. embrace the imbalance.

Depends on what sort of game is being played.

Fluffy "historical" scenario? Hand-pick units based on what is available and feels common to that faction at that time period; balance isn't even a concern because a historical scenario isn't *supposed* to be balanced, most of the time.

Campaign play? Hand-pick units based on what is available and feels common to the faction being played during that time period, then go through and check for both "smell test" balance *AND* BV2 balance. If I'm stuck on what to populate a portion of the overall list, then the RATs come out.

Need to come up with a scenario fast or just playing a game to blow shit up and waste time? Roll on the RATs.

Friendly tournament-style game? Pick a theme for the force and make that theme work to the best of my ability via hand-picking, within the tournament ruleset. Note that "making a RAT function" is a valid theme, and would necessitate rolling RATs instead of hand-picking.

Competitive tournament-style game? Hand-pick and abuse the BV2 system to within an inch of its life while respecting the boundaries of the tourney ruleset. This is the sort of thing that produces 8k BV2 no-repeated-variants lists consisting of x1 -1G Annihilator, x1 -2A Annihilator, x1 -Gausszilla Annihilator , and x1 -4A Annihilator (4/6) for ~7,998 BV2.

This. Against a buddy, the general way for a fun match is 1/2 solid machines, 1/4 crap/niche machines that you know how drive really well to get them to perform, and 1/4 strange new things that you want to try but won't wreck the match if they're total crap or total cheese.

Xotl RAT one true RAT

What CapCon era is most fun CapCon era?

Yep. He's done more for our gaming group than CGL has in the last ten years.

>XotL RAT
where can I find this?

Does BT have any amphibious/aquatic mechs?

All Mechs can be aquatic, thanks to UMUs and HarJel. However, the only primarily aquatic mech I can think of is the Aquagladius, a terrible terrible Solaris VII mech.

Technically they all are amphibious, but the aquagladius is the only one I know of that's purposely designed as such. And it really sucks at it.

Are there any good assault battlemechs that have hands.