/btg/ BattleTech General

The Royal Ostscout has a Beagle Active Probe, and there isn't a Royal Spider.

What modification to the basic design of protomechs would be needed to make them not drive their pilots insane?

Nothing as far as game stats go, if you want to get fluffy the OTT carries a TRSS.2L3 targeting/tracking system and a Barret 4000 communications system.
Then again, in the SDR fluff, "One of the overlooked reasons the Spider is such a good recon unit is the O/P sensor and
communication package. As one large system, it is fully integrated, allowing sensor readings to be transmitted alongside voice communication. Even an entertainment unit is included to allow pilots to relax a bit when forced to wait in their unit."

So I suppose either one works factory fresh, no need to screw around with electronics at all.

Meanwhile, there's this on the Lawsuit:
sarna.net/news/update-on-the-harmony-gold-lawsuit/
Nothing new since the last couple days but it organizes the current situation nicely.

Well there is one NOW!

so what is Alpha Strike?

>What modification to the basic design of protomechs would be needed to make them not drive their pilots insane?

Not existing.

It's the EI that does it, and no EI means no Protos.

>in b4 but VDNI

Fucks you up just as bad.

Mechs with Spanish names?

Are the Camacho's Caballeros books any good?

Toro

Matador.

The CC books have some very Sue characters and plotlines in them. I'm not a fan for those reasons but a lot of posters here like them.

>Mechs with Spanish names?

QSD-3X Quesedilla
CLP-UA Chalupa
TCO-T0 Tacquito
GD-1-TA Gordita
GD-1-MAX Gordita Supreme
MX1-MLT Meximelt
EPN-DA Empanada
BRT-1T0 Burrito
BLL-88F Bellgrande
SEE-1S-TA Siesta

underrated post

ARA-S-1 Araña
This Mech's name is "Spider" in Spanish.
Incidentally, the scorpion and the spider belong to the same Arachnida.

how are my odds

Assuming quirks and other sundry? Pretty decent.

Fight conservatively, bring infernos

all i got at the moment

:(

>tfw no BT political drama with a GOT-tier budget

Why did this stupid fucking thing make me laugh so much?

It's a Stinger though. They are basically suicide machine that isn't hovercraft.

they were a good boy they didnt deserve it

So, how Strong is the Iberian influence in the taurian concordat? Or in the suns outback? Or other territories? Because I can find more Scotts than iberians/latins (the Italians or French seems to be only in the FWL or the Suns).
I could find the Lobo, the Tiburon (both clanish btw) the Toro, the Matador and possible the Matar. The Camacho caballeros have the great flaw than they are writen be Victor Millan, than it's one of the few men able to take a premise as cool as Dino knights and make it a chore to read. I found the first book cringey specially because the Mc was a mary sue of the first order and all the internal inconsistency.

>So, how Strong is the Iberian influence in the taurian concordat? Or in the suns outback? Or other territories? Because I can find more Scotts than iberians/latins (the Italians or French seems to be only in the FWL or the Suns).
Iberians? Really? Why not just say Spaniard? As for your actual question, you're more likely to see people from the classically Spanish part of Europe in the FWL as a major group. There's nothing saying an enclave or three of them might be on a given planet in the IS though.

I use iberian for the losely related Ibero-America and the Iberian peninsula culture block mate. I could call it Spanish america but I would like to find the portus or Brasilians too.

So what's the Taurian culture like? I find reference to lat-am, Texas etc in here, and the books I read didn't define it very well apart of being industrialist, eager educators and totally suspicious of the Suns and the IS in general,and all that was thrown out of the window to make them retarded and to basically destroy the concordat and make some puny nations for the kicks.
The Outworld alliance also reminded me to the Ithacans movement in Spain (catalans mostly) but I doubt the BT writers even knew about that.

>So what's the Taurian culture like? I find reference to lat-am, Texas etc in here, and the books I read didn't define it very well apart of being industrialist, eager educators and totally suspicious of the Suns and the IS in general,and all that was thrown out of the window to make them retarded and to basically destroy the concordat and make some puny nations for the kicks.
That's pretty much all they are.

That is adorable.

/btg/ challenge: make these mechs

Warming up before work.

THE STRONGEST.

>not a pixie though

My weekend is made. And princess has long hair. Fantastic! Great work in such a short period of time.

...

General question (but mostly to CA since he's the one who's putting together the "how to use AtB" guide):

Aside from fluff, what's the significance - within the AtB program - of having a better Hyperspace Navigator? My players are asking what the benefit of shelling out to upgrade their Regular to an Elite navigator would be, and I don't have a particularly ready answer.

So, how(what) is Catalyst doing nowadays?
The last thing I noticed was they were going forward with the new starter sets and shat the floor in the HG court case.

Is the when their tyranny ends any closer?

Absolutely nothing.

If you mean HG ending, no. Even if the claim from PGI is a slam dunk (and all indications are to the contrary- remember that they *won* the case that is being cited against them and do have the rights they are pursuing, PGI is merely trying to muddy the waters) then PGI/HBS/CGL would need to go to a Japanese company that has put up with decades of shit from Americans to get rights that they'd rather distribute to companies that can properly pay for them any way. The Nuseen and PGI designs really are too close to the originals, which is why CGL immediately went into appeasement mode. If it goes to trial, expect PGI/HBS to be schooled, because while we are mecha afficionadoes and will notice the subtle distinctions, the general public won't and that's the legal test involved.

If you mean CGL failing, the game is probably in a death spiral. Projects keep getting delayed, we're mostly getting overpriced micro-content, and standards for writing, fact-checking, and proofing continue to plummet. The time where ilClan and a timeskip could feasibly have saved the game has likely passed.

>If you mean HG ending, no.

Of course I mean Catalyst going bankrupt. HG is a company that deserves to burn but that's from the Macross side of things for me.
businessinsider.com/north-korean-defector-kpop-korean-music-2017-11
And people laughed at the notion of singing having an effect on soldiers... tsk.
Imagine living on a frontier world close to Terra.
One side blasts jpop, the other blasts kpop.
Must be fun.

>frontier world
Davion* frontier world

...

QSD-3X Quesedilla - Medium Quad Line mech
CLP-UA Chalupa - Medium high armor striker
TCO-T0 Tacquito - Light single weapon pack hunter
GD-1-TA Gordita - Some kind of assault?
GD-1-MAX Gordita Supreme - Some kind of royal assault?
MX1-MLT Meximelt - Laser boat
EPN-DA Empanada - IDK, missile boat?
BRT-1T0 Burrito - Heavy frontline brawler
BLL-88F Bellgrande - Another heavy or assault brawler
SEE-1S-TA Siesta - Light ECM stealth guy

That's all I've got

MX1-MLT Meximelt - Laser boat my sides are in orbit.

So where can I order a Taco Bell $10 box to defend my world and do I get to pick what comes inside?

HG won the case but it was found they DONT have the rights they say they do. That changes a lot.

They ddin't do anything that wasn't known since 2001.
Catalyst already moved on these grounds once when they first tried to push unseens through and failed.

You can't counter someone claiming you're doing illegal shit by running your mouth about how he didn't shower today.
It's really usless to even comment on the case right now. You simply have to wait to see it through. Sarna is doing articles on it but they're just a bunch of clueless fucks.

Here's the Copy-Pasta I throw at people who express interest in the game, I'd say, get a copy of Total Warfare from the OP's Mediafire Link, and keep the book open while fumbling your way through a few rounds of MegaMek, you should start to see how the mechanics translate, and it'd be a more fun way to start than trying to absorb the tome on its own

Quickstart rules
d15yciz5bluc83.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/BattleTechQuick-Start-Rules.pdf (The basics of the game, simplifies a few things like shooting and physical phase are tied together)

: mediafire.com/folder/sdckg6j645z4j/Battletech#ywu2oukhl8gww

Look for >Battletech>Rulebooks and Sourcebooks
(Tabletop Wargame)
CAT 35001 Total Warfare (The Main Rules)
CAT 35003 Tactical Operations (Expanded Tabletop Rules)
CAT 35004 Strategic Operations (Expanded Campaign rules)
CAT 3500A Boxed Set Tables (Quick reference tables)
FPR 35103 TechManual (Expanded Info on Equipment, Vehicle Construction Rules)
FPR 10977 Field Manual Mercenaries Revised (Useful document for Running Merc Campaigns, *Note: Maintenance Rules P148)

(The RPGs (to add confusion)(Not really necesssary if we're just playing the wargame))
FPR 35030 Classic Battletech RPG
>>Lifepaths Master Document
CAT 35005 A Time of War

Also also
megamek.org/downloads (MegaMek, a fan-made Battletech Simulator, also see MekHQ, a fan-made battletech Campaign simulator)
solarisskunkwerks.com/ (Solaris Skunkwerks and Solaris Armor Werks, A fan made program to make battlemech and combat vehicle construction way easier)
sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page (The Battletech Wikia)

Shoulda' proofread my Pasta, looks like I tailored it to my personal rpg group, meh, it's mostly good

It was found that they didn't have certain rights, but none that actually effect the current case.

The case they're referencing has been broadly misinterpreted by a fanbase that is, understandably, not terribly fond of HG.

PGI's lawyers are just throwing things at a wall. Don't expect it to work.

As said, the people claiming victory or a big change to the case based on one HG won are hoping for way too much.

It barely puts a dent in HG's position, which comes down to "Look at the Glaug Pod and Marauder. Now look at the Warhammer and Tomahawk. Now look at the Defender (I think? Not too sure on these names) and the Archer. Check out the Vertech and these other things." And on those counts, they definitely have a case.

>Now look at the Defender (I think? Not too sure on these names) and the Archer.

What makes it even more confusing is in most cases you have a Macross name, a Robotech name, *and* a Battletech name to keep track of. To make matters worse, in at least one case, the Macross name was reused for a *different* destroid in Robotech Sentinels.

The Archer is the "Spartan" in Macross (a name later given to the Robotech Sentinels version of the Phalanx - the Longbow in Battletech), but the "Gladiator" in Robotech. The "Defender" (in Macross) is the goofy 60-ton shoota we all know and love (Rifleman), but was called "Raidar X" in Robotech.

>It was found that they didn't have certain rights, but none that actually effect the current case.
They claim that the designs are infringing on designs that they don't have the rights to. How does that not affect the case?

Because that's not actually what was found?

Again, what the judge in the prior HG case ruled has been drastically and hyperbolically mis-interpreted by non-lawyers who don't like HG.

Why do people hate LAMs so much? I think they're kinda fun, and they add another dimension to the game.

user, that was a foregone conclusion all the way back in 2001.
If it was as easy as pointing to the Japanese ruling saying they don't own the characters/designs and raking in the damages, people would have done so ages ago.

> they definitely have a case.
Only in a complete shitshow like the current absolute state of the West's legal system. The reality they are grasping tablescrap pilfering greedy sandnigger scum who are basically rights trolling. They didn't invent shit and they are absolutely a perfect example of everything that's wrong with late stage capitalism.

Don't fit the flavour of most eras, can exploit movement too easily, and are frequently used by munchkins.

They can only really be dealt with easily if you're playing in a Cincy-style meta environment with ASF and AA gear, they don't slot into the regular BT dynamic (ie, mostly 'Mechs, maybe a few vees, fuck all artillery and AA, no ASFs) which really doesn't help.

Fair play if you and your group like using them, I've never had fun using them and since all players have to opt in to their use I'd either nope them or find something else to play if I were the odd man out.

It's hard to implement rules that make them fun to use and fun to oppose.

Overall I agree with you, but...

>Don't fit the flavour of most eras
...this has got me scratching my head. Star League and 3025 are easy fits, Clanner hate for LAMs works well enough, they get a soft comeback in the Jihad, and they're perfect for the randomly high tech Dark Age. So that leaves the FedCom Civil War? What's the FedCom Civil War got flavor-wise that makes LAMs a bad fit?

>they don't slot into the regular BT dynamic
To be fair, neither does Total Warfare-style infantry.

noice

>What's the FedCom Civil War got flavor-wise that makes LAMs a bad fit?
Vast armies of both mechs and ASF. Also constant high-level warfare, with no room in the budget for experimentation on fragile designs - WoB had a lot of time and resources on their hands, so they experimented.

In 3025 they're meant to be around only in relatively tiny numbers. Usually concentrated when they do exist, though.

They really only work in the SL era. After that they're meant to be dying out.

For most of the Age of War, they don't exist. Then the SL builds them in reasonably (if not relatively) large numbers. Then they mostly die off, get a tiny last hurrah with the WoB, and are completely gone after that. They don't come around for the DA at all. That leaves two eras where they fit.

Battle bump

What's your favorite mech that got a new lease on life with with a tech upgrade?

For me its the Banshee, light and XL engines let it actually have enough tonnage for some decent weaponry. My favorite thing is to give it TSM as well and go full boxer punching fools in the face.

Probably the Charger and rifleman, general quints

Yeah, hard to go past the Charger, getting 26.5 tons back from the engine is a game-changer.

The Banshee I don't actually like because it only brings 8 shots for the GR. Something like this (maybe peel off a ton of armour for another DHS?) and I'd be on board.

After the Star League, the flavor is that *everything* is dying out. LAMs fit that fine. The Dark Age too - once you get past the initial low-tech rabble, the Dark Age is all about crazy experimental tech. LAMs would be right up its alley.

Most people don't treat the Age of War separate from the Star League, but I agree with you there. Flavor-wise, the Age of War is a lot like the Succession Wars, except that technology is rising instead of falling, and it hasn't risen high enough for LAMs yet. (It also has a ton more little nations, instead of the five big consolidated ones we're used to, but that's neither here nor there.)

I think that WoB's mysterious inactivity is part of the flavor of that era, so WoB LAMs might not be a good fit for the FedCom Civil War. That budget argument from... whatever TRO that was ...is a white lie, though. LAMs are a proven technology; it's the R&D that's expensive, and we know projects of that scope were being undertaken. In addition to WarShips and other grander projects, The "Nanook" Thrush from XTRO Boondocks shows a Solaris chopshop (VEST) undertaking a similarly expensive, experimental and complex project at some point in 3052-3068, while the SL-27X Sholager in XTRO Corporations shows a major corporation using a technologically backwards manufacturing facility to complete a similarly difficult project in 3065. (There may be more and better examples in the main TROs; I don't know. Haven't looked.)

>Vast armies of both mechs and ASF.
That's generally considered an argument favoring LAMs.

>constant high-level warfare
That's an argument for LAMs dying out *in* the war, though, not for them being totally absent to start with.

LAMs are so complex that even WoB at its superweapon madness height was barely able to scrape a few together.

Nobody else has gotten close since. The Dark Age's tech is mostly built around integrating Clan tech, not reaching or exceeding WoB wunderwaffen.

The TSM Banshee that user's talking about is a pretty insane upgrade

Anyone have the Touring the Stars Wynn's Roost pdf?

Ya, most mechs with a GR need two tons of ammo minimum. There are variants that do have at least that much

The only cannon Banshee with TSM is the WoB BNC-8S with a hatchet that deals 19 damage before the TSM bonus My favorite personal refit is pic related, witch I now realize has a standard engine but TSM, double heat sinks, and ER PPCs do a lot to help it out.

>The only cannon Banshee with TSM is the WoB BNC-8S with a hatchet that deals 19 damage before the TSM bonus
yeah. The Lyrans kept it in production after they got the factory back.

Banshee is a good choice. Charger as well. Cyclops is another; really any of the 4/6 Introtech assaults really need the help.

Morbid curiosity; anyone here like the Mortis? I didn't play Clickytech but I just 'discovered' it and I kinda like it. It's not that great, I realize that, but I feel like it might be fun to play around with. Plus the idea of a 'Mech with a scythe is just too funny to me, but in an endearing way.

Mortis, like that one clickytech drac mech, combines a headcapper and a hatchet to be a threat at all ranges. While it isn't as good as a specialist mech, I've had fun with it.

Yeah I reckon removing the HPPC does hamper it some. Headcapping at range is a big deal.

I actually do like it, yeah. But then I've always liked cavalry heavies

AC/10 and jump jets is fine for a light right?

ask the urbanmech

Hue. That's great
Would you be willing to do a Victor and a slightly yandere looking blond chick?

Whats that mech?

If you know how to use it.

Seconding this , Google and Sarna have failed me

Huh, neat. I half expected it to be decried as DA schwarbage.

It looks like a Raijin and a Blitzkrieg had a lovechild. What's its actual speed? Give is a TRO sheet for it mang.

It's the Taco, I assume. From that "Meximechs" joke post.

I mean, visually it's full of fuck, as is 90% of clickytech, but it's a nice design on the table

The IWM mini of the Mortis is pretty slick.

Oh, shit, that is a LOT better

Check out pic related.

Ah, that makes sense.

Assuming it is the above, how is this for a Taco.

is correct.

It should have neither lower arm nor hand actuators, based on the pic. It also is supposed to be a light mech, so bring it down five tons (4/6/4 is appropriate). That'd make it a reverse Panther: dangerous up close instead of at a distance.

Oh huh, no space in the CT for the AC/10?

Yeah I really do want to get one for a later-era Cappie force. Shame it's $15. Maybe I'll get lucky sometime.

They take up like 6-7 crits broski. You'd need a CFE to fit it all in there. Even an XL Gyro isn't enough.

Right, forgot about hands.

Well I had been sticking with intro tech for the backwater feel, but I can just pull of CT gun with full tech blowout.

It's not a big deal. There's other mechs that have a center in-line weapon in art but it's in a side torso stat-wise. Biggest culprit of this is probably the Marauder, which has a center-mounted cannon in many depictions. Don't worry about it.