/btg/ BattleTech General

I don't know who those are. With the music discussion from last thread, I assume those guys write vintage/classical music?

Fuck you.

Keep it up. Non-assholes appreciate it. You've got a decent eye and pretty good taste in waifus. The only one of yours I haven't liked has been the Wolfs Dragoons one, and that's just because of the light levels.

>I don't know who those are.
go and stay go

alternatively listen to the entirety of
youtube.com/watch?v=QjgTtkRoye4
Then you may stay, but only if.

No thanks. I don't listen to vintage music. I can listen to that sort of thing when I visit my grandparents this christmas.

>he literally titled the picture

With the way VR is going, we'll probably have a game in the next 2 years that lets us free form RIP AND TEAR the random raider with a bent steel pipe that interrupts the guy trundling around in power armor.

shit, that one's really small, sorry.

I bet you watch Anime, too.

What if I watch anime while listening to CCR?

Only if its vintage anime. Which you should be watching anyways since this is /btg/

Vintage like what? Something old like Full Metal Alchemist? Or the really extra old stuff like Ninja Scroll or Ghost in the Shell?

On that note, what mech would Spike pilot.

I'd also appreciate it if inker could do a piece with ed

...

Archer.

Oh good, someone did. They're also in this one abstracted in the background.

You resistance only makes my shoop harder.

Will do, when I have the free time. Cheers. And the WD one is getting redone to be a full 1900x1080 one eventually.

Jackal. Fast, and has a really big gun that shoots blue shit.

I generally like your work, but short hair... would not pollinate.

is Veeky Forums broken for anyone else?

the threads are loading all weird.

shit taste desu

I agree with you mate. Short hair is great. Honestly, the more boyish the girl, the better.

Oh my

Please do Burrs and Adders

How the fuck does Islam still exist in BattleTech, especially when it's impossible for most people to get to Terra/Earth and make the hajj?

>Playboy
>not Playbot

Most of the muslims who left Terra are more or less apostates by all accounts.

The hajj is only compulsory if you have the means to do it properly.

Do you have a master collection? The Taurians are my favorite faction but I'm curious to see the other waifus you chose.

Are Land-Air-Mechs worth playing with?

They look like a neat idea but I can't find the rules to them in the books since I'm a baka.

More like how does any form of the big religions still exist? You'd think they would fracture a lot, or a bunch of new ones would exist.

Sects, my dude. There's nothing stopping each planets Islam from being a bit different.

And/or the writers didn't care enough enough to make new religions.

This. Actually being able to uphold the hajj is a relatively new thing all things considered. Think of all those Indonesians back before the modern age. They didn't have the means, let alone the money to travel half the globe and back.

Use them very sparingly. They cause too much rage.

Even with all the possible handicaps they could think of, LAMs still rape face.
Robots with the agility of a fighter jet are simply on completely another plane of power levels when it comes to sci-fi machinery.

Not the other LAM-user, but what books should one peruse for LAM related rules and info?

It's 3050. The clan invasion has just started.
I'm an IS Mary Sue- what mech do I pilot?

Axman. While screaming incoherently about your home planet.

Taurians are the best. They're a fallen empire. I'm almost certain they had an ambassador named Londo who spoke with the Blakists of "restoring the Concordat" and "extending our reach from the Pleiades to the Badlands!"

...

Just getting into BT with the starter box, where do I go from here?

LAM user here, Sarna says Interstellar Ops, however I can't find that shit.

Gausszilla.

Lance packs for more mechs
Building a local group
Drowning in lore
Slow progression from Introtech (the box you have) up through all the eras until you find your favorite

Check out the OP post for links to everything you need

I am in love with MMLs, any fun builds with them?
That many kinds of ammo is adorable and scary.

Some of the BT history actually mentions this as a reason as to why Islam isn't as prominent in space as the other religions, because it took a while for religious authorities to clarify how Islam's rituals would function when not on Terra, and so Muslims didn't emigrate in large numbers until that was sorted out, a century or more after everybody else. Can't remember where this is offhand, though.

>Just getting into BT with the starter box, where do I go from here?

How familiar are you with the setting and rules?

The starter box sets the game around 3025, during the Inner Sphere's Succession Wars and prior to the arrival of the Clans. If the only things in your game are Battlemechs ( no tanks, infantry, aerospace fighters, etc.), then the game should be pretty easy to learn at this point - especially if you know someone who has played before who can play a few matches with you.

A good way to start would be practicing a small game with two medium mechs on each side so you can get the hang of using movement in various types of terrain, firing weapons, rolling to hit, and taking care of damage. You probably want to ignore the heat scale for now, avoid physical contact with each other, and might even eschew keeping track of ammunition, as these all add complexities that you can learn once you understand the absolute basics.

Also, if you haven't watched Robot Jox, you should really consider doing so.

What do I need to read to learn about the general state of the setting in the Jihad? Does anyone have a good summary? Is it a good time period for mercenaries?

What's funny is, speaking as a Muslim, this is nonsense. It's one of those things only a non Muslim would see as an issue. While not literally stated "for space travel purposes" the holy Quran literally lays out answers for all the things the BT writers thought would be problems.

More practically, it does minimize the presence of a religion they obviously knew little to nothing about and so couldn't properly write about.

Aside from the Azami are there any prominent Muslim characters?

>More practically, it does minimize the presence of a religion they obviously knew little to nothing about and so couldn't properly write about.

I don't think they were that thoughtful about it. What with the Jihad Era and all.

Yeah, interstellar ops definitely has the latest LAM rules, but I was thinking of older books.

I just looked through my copies of the BT Compendium, Master Rules and Max Tech... Didn't see a mention of LAMs anywhere.

Where were the rules for LAMs first introduced?

Forgive my poor English, what do you mean precisely? Their use of the word Jihad? That's not really offensive, no more than calling some clanners crusaders.

The first Aerotech.

World of Blake is as blatant a notMuslim faction as it gets. Complete with the only trope known to sci-fi when it comes to the Middle East - transhumanism (with Blake its drugs and cyborgs, usually it's just advanced biological weaponry and research).

FM: 3085, or FM and ER 3145 depending on when you mean.

And not a great time for mercs after the Jihad, the industry was basically crushed due to the poor conduct of a number of units who either defected to the WoB or were secretly working for them all along and the reduction in military forces.

Thanks! I really like the catapult mini and how it plays, are there any other sexy mechs like those that are all about balls out fire power? I love it when nexus are bristling with big guns either as an artillery piece or a juggernaut

Something about the Marshal speaks to me. How hard would it be for a nerd company to have one?

The WoB made me think of Christian crusaders what with their obvious Catholic Church analogy.

>nerd
If you mean merc? MUL gives it to them in 3085+.

Prior to that it's built in low numbers at one place for factions that are always screaming for every 'Mech they can get their hands on.

I would get a Cronus instead, really. It's faster and even with the grogtech variant all you really lose out on is a single LRM-5, which is hardly a big deal.

Start with Introductory Ruleset in the box and work up to the full Total War rules. Stick to mechs only until you're comfortable with all the rules before adding vehicles/VTOLs/infantry/aero/arty. Accept that pre- and post-Clan invasion are largely different games strategy wise like Great War biplane dogfights vs. modern BVR combat jets. Grognard battletech is far more forgiving in maneuver because 3025 mechs have few weapons and defensive modifiers for movement are substantial. Post 3052 mechs, while having more speed and armor in absolute terms, are not as tanky as pre-clan machines because they have many more weapons, tech that invalidates target movement, and fragile advanced fusion engines. Knowing what era you are in is the second step towards victory (after always balancing by BV2 not tonnage).
3025 - Always be moving towards the scrum. Go for melee attacks and back-shots in close combat.
3050+ - Maximize terrain mods and limit line-of-sight as your primary defense. Only move if it gets you a shot or a better shot.

There are some in the Free Worlds League, but the Purple Burd gets less page count than the Draconis Combine, so practically no.

If you want a mech that is truly about firepower and nothing else, you want the Annihilator. It sacrifices speed and even armor (to a degree) for a truly withering amount of firepower in any era. The mech is hard to use in fluffy games, but luckily, you're probably not using fluffy games right now, so that's not a real concern.

Of all the mechs and mechwarriors Inker has done, has he done any Muslim or Arabic themed ones? Even a pseudo one, like a princess jasmine type mechwarrior?

See attached image for 3025 strategy guide.

>pic
So, what mechs are the seals supposed to be? I see a head mounted laser and an AC/5, are they supposed to be some variant of Shadow Hawk?

He did one that seemed to quote a Power Stone character.

>I would get a Cronus instead, really. It's faster and even with the grogtech variant all you really lose out on is a single LRM-5, which is hardly a big deal.

Isn't the Cronus built in someone's garage in the periphery out of spare Shadow Hawk chassis? Is its being manufactured out there what would make it available to a merc unit that had money but wanted/needed to avoid any potential political situations?

Neat. Do you have it?

It's a MWO picture, Seals are tier 5-4 people who have just started playing the game or people who really don't have a clue how to play the game at all, and trust me there are people like that in all tiers.

Built in someone's really nice garage in the FWL (or for a little bit FedCom depending on when) often out of totaled Shadow Hawk chassis actually. Gilmour's main market was mercs, and often cash strapped ones because it was still usually cheaper to have you smashed up mech rebuilt into something new than buy a new one.

Like WoT, you can fail yourself to the top in MWO.

>like a princess jasmine type mechwarrior?

Not bad, and close, but not quite the same. Plus I was thinking something more Azami/Drac for a ride. Never used that mech. Is it any good?

>the only trope known to sci-fi when it comes to the Middle East - transhumanism
What?

>Aside from the Azami are there any prominent Muslim characters?
There was an (I think) Eridani pilot in 3025 noted for stopping in the middle of battle to say his daily prayers. (I *swear* I heard this was based on actual historical events, but I have absolutely zero back up for that.)

And to be fair to the BattleTech authors, Muslims waiting to leave Earth isn't the only instance where a BattleTech culture ignores existing solutions to such a question. I'm sure there's ample precedent in real life too.

That's a broad question with lots of potential answers. What kinds of things are you interested in? (Also, see pic related, and where it says "Officially Recommended Rules," delete "Total Warfare" and insert "BattleMech Manual." Not the TechManual, mind you; BattleMech Manual.)

Captured Mad Cat.

This. Racing 'Mech with a BFG tacked on.

>Fly me to the moon, let me swing among the stars

Me too, intermittently. I'm assuming it's holiday traffic from students no longer in school.

Current rules seem to tailor them for ramming. So you've got about the same speed and range as a LRM rack, with a lower chance of making a successful/repeatable contribution to the game, with the added fun of misguided rules bloat.

The 1990 Compendium has them; the Rules of Warfare Compendium doesn't. They last appeared in the mid-90s Tactical Handbook; also appeared in the 1987 BattleTech Manual: Rules of Warfare; and like said, they first appeared in the first AeroTech. Be warned though that these versions of the ruleset have ambiguities that an unscrupulous player can exploit it to extreme butthurt.

The taurian concordat's only competent general ever was a devout enough Muslim to have actually made the trip to earth; Haji Douru

They've had several talented generals. Most of their best in terms of opportunity to perform were in the Reunification War. Doru was a bit of a weird cat. Waiting to stage a coup, staging it, then bailing and serving a rival state. Kinda fucked up.

>then bailing and serving a rival state.
The bailing part at least made sense, he didn't want to create a junta, he just wanted Thomas Calderon gone.
Of course him showing up in the MoC was part of FM:P and it's general theme of "every good thing about the TC is a thing for the magistracy now, and all the Magistracy's flaws and issues are now the TC's"

For the way he speaks and his time period he is probably from Indonesia or Singapur or first generation australian, so he is probably muslim (at least in culture because I doubt anime girls is very haram) I doubt he will have any problem if you give him ideas.
Some Saladin hijabi crew with very skintigh uniforms perhaps.

The bailing isn't completely unbelievable, it just seems out of character with him with what was written before. Just a take on his character type.
But yeah you're right about the second point. It made the MoC incredibly boring. "Oh look, they're getting a new and improved X... again."

>What?

Islam placed studies of the human body on a pedastal and to this day, anthropology/medicine is the main field people from those parts of the world contribute to.

This is in turn the main defining factor in most sci-fi interpretations of the culture. The cyborgs of WoB, Haqquislam are masters of medicine and bioengineering, Empire Earth 3 (a shitty game but bear with me) gave their future units biological weapons, only ones with a Hospital, etc.

Of course, this is just my opinion. They don't really feature in sci-fi all that much.

>They don't really feature in sci-fi all that much.

They get a chance every once in a while.

Dune is prominent but IIRC it's specifically Space Arabs. Islamic world, the Middle East and stuff nowadays is obviously strongly influenced by the religion and Persian (Iranian) culture.
Fremen are supposed to be the pre-Islamic Arabs, aren't they?

It's that time o year

Time for Santa Atlas to ruin rooftops everywhere on his midnight gallivant across the Inner Sphere?

You guessed it!

Forgot my pic

Speaking of, does BT have any Christmas holiday? Do people in the space future of the 1980's still practice Christmachrist?

yeah

Does BT do the Christmas truce thing that happens in real life sometimes?

Not sure. I know the Lyrans celebrate Christmas while the Dracs and Cappies mock it with their asiastic fedoras.

"Hearts of Chaos", the second Caballeros novels, shows the 17th celebrating Christmas while stationed on Hachiman. They get a lot of weird looks from the locals, who note that 'a fat man in a red-and-white suit is merely another aspect of the Dragon'.

Why is there a tree strapped to that Raven?

Because he already got his gift from Santlas, duh.