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Battletech

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Re: Battletech
Post by Tenshinai   » Wed Feb 15, 2017 10:02 am

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I don't think MLs are 'overpowered', I think the opposite is true, it's that ACs are overweight


Yes.

yes, but you do, unless your using a tank with an ICE engine (and then you have more problems than HS) and can use the AC-20 with 0 heat.


The point was that the weapons appear to have been balanced based on the absence of internal engine heatsinks.


I was in an interesting game (before that rule) where we could fit out our Omnis how we wanted. I had a 90tn (GM created) mech with 4LPLs TC and 21DHS. on one particular turn, I declared no movement. A light mech jumped behind me. I was nice and pointed out the fact, that I had not moved, to the player. He insisted on not taking the move back. So... I flip-armed and aimed all 4 at his right leg! Next turn, 40pt CT auto-hits :twisted:


:mrgreen:
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Re: Battletech
Post by MAD-4A   » Wed Feb 15, 2017 11:07 am

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Tenshinai wrote:The point was that the weapons appear to have been balanced based on the absence of internal engine heatsinks.

Hmmm, possibly ... well the -- :?: -- at FASA did a lot of things ... :? . I am currently trying to produce PDFs for all the RL units and there is hardly any of the 'book' units that conform to the design rules. Not one of the Leviathans that I've checked have Mass or Cost that are anywhere near what they listed them as - I'm going to leave out those stats as 'irrelevant' since they don't conform to their own math - that they made up! (no wonder they went under :P ) So, this wouldn't surprise me.
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Almost only counts in Horseshoes and Nuclear Weapons. I almost got the Hand-Grenade out the window does not count.
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Re: Battletech
Post by Tenshinai   » Thu Feb 16, 2017 3:05 pm

Tenshinai
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MAD-4A wrote:Hmmm, possibly ... well the -- :?: -- at FASA did a lot of things ... :? . I am currently trying to produce PDFs for all the RL units and there is hardly any of the 'book' units that conform to the design rules. Not one of the Leviathans that I've checked have Mass or Cost that are anywhere near what they listed them as - I'm going to leave out those stats as 'irrelevant' since they don't conform to their own math - that they made up! (no wonder they went under :P ) So, this wouldn't surprise me.


Essentially, they made a game, then they realised that making the background have SOME kind of realism would be a good idea.

By that time, it was already impossible. :twisted:

I recall one of the posters on the BT forum using a signature about the composition of warship armour, how they were layers of spiderweb and air, based on size and tonnages stated. :mrgreen:

Also, about unit structure, one of the primary themes in BT has always been, shit happened, NOTHING is standard or according to the book.
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Re: Battletech
Post by MAD-4A   » Mon Feb 20, 2017 11:22 am

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Tenshinai wrote:Also, about unit structure...
I created proper TO&Es which include command elements and unit flexibility. I was going to post them here but I couldn't figure out how, so I posted them here:

https://www.ourbattletech.com/forum/index.php?topic=3228.msg41390#msg41390

They allow for varying unit sizes. like a unit commanders going to say "The enemys attacking, but you only have 3 mechs in your lance so you can't fight, you don't have 4" or 5 mechs are left from 2 Lances and the commander says "well these 4 are going to form a lance, and that one will just stand down because we don't have 3 more to put with it." no he's going to say "You 4 form up on him!"

They also provide flexibility in Merc unit organization. lets say you command a Merc unit with 18 mechs...:
So what are you? you have more than 12 so your not a Company, but you don't have 36 so your not a Battalion.
Well which do you want to be? Battalions garner more pay and you can give yourself a field promotion to Major but you also need to pay more officers. A Company gets less pay but needs less officers, and is given less hectic assignments. so:
You could form your mechs into 2x4-mech Lances and 2x5-mech 'Reinforced' Lances that's 4 Lances, take the field rank of Capitan and you're a 'Reinforced Company'. You need 3 Lieutenants (Lance commanders) and the rest are MW or NCOs. good for a low paying garrison assignment. Its also good for receiving less dangerous assignments when in combat (your just a 'company').
Or: you could form your 18 mechs into 6 'Short Lances' of 3 mechs each. form 3 of those into 1st Company and 2 into 2nd (Short) Company. That leaves 1 (Short) Lance as your command unit. for this you are a Major, you need 2 Captains (Company commanders) and 3 Lieutenants (Lance commanders). you're now technically a 'Short' Battalion and can garner Battalion pay, but with the added expense of 2 Capitan's, you also have to worry in combat that some General may throw you in against an enemy Battalion (with 2-3 times your numbers) because your a 'Battalion' right! on the plus side you can cover more area with more maneuver units, great for a recon unit.

So you assign units as you see fit, within the guidelines.

This can be great for game purposes too as it gives GMs more flexibility...
6 Heavy/Assaults form 2 Short Lances for a Short Company, while 15 Light/Medium mechs form 3-4 lances (Short-Reinforced) for a Company or Reinforced Company and you can form a 'balanced' Company-on-Company game without both sides needing exactly "12" mechs.
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Almost only counts in Horseshoes and Nuclear Weapons. I almost got the Hand-Grenade out the window does not count.
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Re: Battletech
Post by Lord Skimper   » Sun May 21, 2017 10:13 pm

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Posts: 1736
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Location: Calgary, Nova, Gryphon.

Favourite Mech is the 20 ton Stinger.

Upgraded of course.

Step one:

Pull the GM 120 Engine and replace it with a Hermes 100

This is 1 ton lighter plus saves 1 ton of Gyros

Step two:

Replace the Myomers with Triple Strength Myomers

Only cost 6 Criticals.

Step three:

Remove the Machine Guns and Ammo.

These are replaced with a Small Laser. 75% of the Damage Never runs out of Ammo.

Step four:

Remove 1 Jump jet

New Movement is 5/8/5
but when running warm 6/9/5

Replace the Standard Armour with 3 tons of Ferro Fiber Adds 14 Criticals

Step Five replace the Medium Laser with a Large laser. Not ER just ordinary Large Laser.

160+% Longer Range and damage.

Keep the 10 standard heat sinks.

What you end up with is a 20 ton Mech with real hitting power. Able to move at similar speed similar Jumping and Hitting power that can bring down any other 20 ton Mech.

20 ton Super Stinger

5/8/5
6/9/5 TSM

Armour factor: 54

LT Large Laser
RA Small Laser

5 jump jets
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Re: Battletech
Post by Lord Skimper   » Mon May 22, 2017 9:02 pm

Lord Skimper
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Location: Calgary, Nova, Gryphon.

Inner Sphere
LRM's

Who is ever going to pick a LRM 10 Over 2 x LRM 5's?

LRM 15 vs 3x LRM 5. LRM 15 with 24 reloads = 3x LRM 5's with 24 reloads each and 1 extra heat sink.

LRM 20 vs 4x LRM 5. LRM 20 with 24 reloads = 4x LRM 5's With 24 Reloads each and 2 extra heat sinks. The LRM 20 even uses one more critical.

LRM's make no sense.
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Re: Battletech
Post by Lord Skimper   » Mon May 22, 2017 9:11 pm

Lord Skimper
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Posts: 1736
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2013 12:49 am
Location: Calgary, Nova, Gryphon.

Lord Skimper wrote:Inner Sphere
LRM's

Who is ever going to pick a LRM 10 Over 2 x LRM 5's?

LRM 15 vs 3x LRM 5. LRM 15 with 24 reloads = 3x LRM 5's with 24 reloads each and 1 extra heat sink.

LRM 20 vs 4x LRM 5. LRM 20 with 24 reloads = 4x LRM 5's With 24 Reloads each and 2 extra heat sinks. The LRM 20 even uses one more critical.

LRM's make no sense.


Cost wise
LRM 5 = 30,000
LRM 10 = 100,000
LRM 15 = 175,000
LRM 20 = 250,000


Reloads 30,000 each

LRM 5 reload 24
LRM 10 reload 12
LRM 15 reload 8
LRM 20 reload 6

Standard heatsinks are 2,000

Add it up.

LRM 20 + 4 reloads = 370,000

LRM 5 x 4 + 4 reloads + 2 heatsinks = 244,000.

Why would anyone ever use a LRM 20?
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Re: Battletech
Post by Roguevictory   » Thu May 25, 2017 10:30 pm

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I never really did many custom mechs though almost all the ones I did make were pure energy boats. I spent more time with the Aerotech rules making custom warships. (A lot of my groups Battletech related activities took place in an alternate timeline where the early Sucession War leaders weren't stupid enough to blow the warship and jumpship industries to hell so Warships were fairly common in the 3025 era and even most pirate bands, merc units or rebel movements had them provided by sympathetic Great Houses under the table usually in the case of the latter and sometimes for the pirates as well)
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Re: Battletech
Post by Lord Skimper   » Tue May 30, 2017 9:16 pm

Lord Skimper
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Posts: 1736
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Location: Calgary, Nova, Gryphon.

I do have an Innersphere Toad alternative.

10 ton Mech

Endosteel Chassis 0.5 tons 14 criticals
GM 40 engine 1 ton
Gyro & cockpit 4 tons
Armour Blazer 2.5 tons 14 criticals
Medium Laser 1 ton CT 1 critical
Small Laser 0.5 tons RT 1 critical
1 jump jet 0.5 tons 1 critical
Triple strength Myomer 6 criticals
10 standard heatsinks
Movement 4/6/1
Warm 5/8/1
Armour 40/60
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Re: Battletech
Post by Lord Skimper   » Wed May 31, 2017 6:58 am

Lord Skimper
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Posts: 1736
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2013 12:49 am
Location: Calgary, Nova, Gryphon.

I also have a 20 ton 'urban' Mech

2 ton Standard Chassis
1 ton 40 engine
4 ton cockpit and gyro
TSM as per my usual 6 criticals
Single full arm, stub other arm
10/20 double heat sinks
1 ton Jump Jumps x2 2 criticals
3.5 tons Ferro Fiberous Armour 63 14 criticals
1 ton Slave Computer 1 critical
1.5 tons Guardian ECM suite 2 criticals
5 ton ER Large Laser CT 2 criticals
1 ton Small Pulse Laser RA 1 critical
Movement 2/3/2
Warm 3/5/2
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Just don't ask what is in the protein bars.
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