Thread 96149893

Welcome to Mecha Monday! Here we dedicate ourselves to mecha RPGs, war games, and board games alike. Here we start games, tell campaign stories, share resources & assets, and seek advice for our games and homebrew.

Assorted Mecha Goodness:
https://pastebin.com/E2wi55AZ
Embryo Machine Translation:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1r_cjOLuUp3HussVRhbQYU3G0zK6hwy1r
Lancehounds Homebrew:
M3g4 folder/eMEBUbCL#kj2FRrlqTa-02U16XpnVRg

Previous Thread:
>>95885776

Question of the Thread:
Naturally the nature of mecha is war and war is human drama. How much do you flavor your games with drama? Do you like to relish in tragedy, keep it more lighthearted, or keep it almost cold in a machine-like manner? This could apply to both how you design your PC or how you theme your adventures as a GM.

>>96149893 (OP)
I prefer the opposite, I view mechs as being a post-war phenomenon. As a weapon of war mechs don't really make much sense, they're too fragile, yet expensive, too big, too inefficient. The mech is not a weapon of a nation trying to take war seriously and end a conflict as quickly as possible in their favor.

Where mechs DO make sense is as an honorable tool of resolving duels. Mechs aren't efficient, but they are majestic. They aren't durable, but they are majestic. A tank or a plane can win a war on the battlefield, but they can't truly 'duel' like a mech can. A mech has a face for people to identify with, and since it's crewed by one man, a duel between mechs comes down entirely to skill.

Thus, mechs make the most sense in a society which has risen above the concept of war.

Are there any combined-arms mecha games, in a similar vein to Battletech?

>>96149915
So you see mecha more as a propaganda piece at worse and an exercise of honor at best? I could see going for that. Most mecha media or rather real robot media, tend to go for the mecha as an extension of the battlefield. A new toy to deploy over something that means more than sociopathy I feel like.

>>96149934
So mech games where mechs are still the stars of the show but there's other conventional vehicles for them to trash to show how powerful they are?

Chromehounds is one, although the only conventional vehicles you go up against are tanks.

>>96149952
Yeah, where mechs are the stars but there's other stuff that is still useful (from tanks to planes to infantry)

>>96149934
Heavy Gear is the first answer that comes to mind but you could also go for Mekton and maybe Lancer / Battle Century G if you doctor it. I can't recall if Lancer has rules for more traditional vehicles or not.

>>96149978
Heavy Gear is probably a little TOO combined arms, it makes the gears a little too weak in comparison to the other options

>>96150003
True, A Gear can get raped by any tank or heli, If that's not what anon wanted then Heavy Gear might not be the best option. Honestly the Battletech RPGs might not be a bad choice but I can't speak for their quality.

>>96150003
Exactly like VOTOMS.

>>96149915
Then some nation decides to mass produce mecha to for their invasion.

>>96150156
Honestly VOTOMS is like...what's even the point?
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI_WEAZ8L0o
This entire battle demonstrates the point pretty nicely. The mechs are convoluted, used in convoluted ways, and die en masse.....and then you find out afterwards that the battle was won by fucking conventional forces, and the mechs were literally just a distraction.

>>96150176
Were that to happen, you'd probably end up with a scene where a crew of plucky peasants go into a museum, find an ancient era tank, and decide as a desperation move to use it, only to discover that the tank is way more powerful than the mechs being used in the invasion

>they made a Starsiege mini game
the models aren't amazing but it's still kino assembling my favorite HERCs. Only real loss is they never made an Apoc model

>>96150177
Rule of cool.

>>96149934
Front Mission. I think you only control mecha but the enemies field mecha, tanks, and copters against you.

>>96150023
Their quality depends on how much crunch you like, and how many skills you think is too many. Seen one in a d6 pool style, and one in a d100. Both seemed to require that special level of early 90s autism to play.
>>96150003
Gears and VOTOMs are both the smallest level of mecha, outside of calling power armor mecha. It makes sense they aren't the kings of the battlefield. Allowing tanks or VTOLs to serve as boss fights is pretty cool, instead of "It's an even BIGGER giant robot"

>>96149893 (OP)
can someone point me in half decent campaing rules for HG Blitz 3.1? anything works I just need a way too repair Gears and see if pilots died between missions. anything works

>>96150177
I liked Pailsen files' use of the polymer solution.
But non-mechs are actually rarely seen IIRC in the original VOTOMS, there's helicopters in a couple of arcs but not many tanks. And that fight I think is a good example of why there should be more combined arms mecha, so they don't have to do all these convoluted things

>>96150286
Mechs suffer from a twofold problem:
1) There's not enough of a niche to demand their use
2) They're too niche to be used

Both of these problems exist, ironically, at the same time, for the military to develop mechs, they would have to have a problem that they just can't solve any other way, because mechs are a very expensive and maintenance heavy platform, and yet at the same time, mechs would have to be capable of fulfilling multiple roles, because the military isn't overly fond of military equipment that can only perform a single function, they prefer multi-role aircraft for a good reason after all.

So with that in mind, when mechs are introduced into a setting, there's no real life 'role' for them to slip into that would justify combined arms, and thus the typical role is...'everything, but better'.

>>96150251
You sure you don't just want the 4e RPG? I do recall the companion 3.1 book having some campaigning options in there.

>>96150198
Do you actually have a set? Cause if so then I'm jelly. I'd love to have a painted up Adjudicator. Wonder if you could also get them scanned. They're probably higher res than the in-game models.

>>96150382
i am POSITIVE that I dont wanna use the 4e RPG. Im running a campaign with a friend and we wanna toy with an actual narrative with logistics. and I dont wanna open that beast of a tome and figure out how too convert vehicle repair rules from a RPG too a Wargame

>>96150373
I wonder if that could change with the right tech. I always thought the idea behind Battletechs Myomers was a good start. Motors are just not good at having back and forth motion that limbs need to have. So instead going for an artificial muscle that theoretically also cheap to make would at least make it so you could field mechs for some benefits such as rough terrain navigation or environment interaction.

>>96150430
I'm not seeing anything in the companion about repair jobs but there does seem to at least be some survivor rules. Maybe we could homebrew a pilot and gear mortality rule for campaigning.
Maybe something to kick off like
>If a Gear is destroyed, role 2d6 against its pilot threshold to see if the pilot lives, if overkilled then it would be a 1d6

I don't know much about infinity but I like the landmate esque TAG mechs

>>96150600
are you in the Blitz discord or the Heavy Gear hangout?

Im happy too message you on there if you have the time

>>96150628
No but I could maybe hit up the Blitz discord. I don't have many accounts for things, I also ghost the Heavy Gear reddit but don't have an account. Nice thing about 4chan is that I can just post.

>>96150660
hey if you dont have a account dont force yourself too make one. I just need ideas. HG Areana has some nice rules I think we can nab for ease of use. Alternativly . How convertable is Alpha Strike too Blitz?

>>96150667
>How convertable is Alpha Strike too Blitz?
It's even simpler than HGB from what I know. Doesn't even have weapons profiles. But if it has decent pilot survival rules then you could lift them and use it for HGB. Could probably even tweak the roles for silhouettes "die meeting threshold = +1 to result" style of rolling. Arena could also be good. I really liked the idea of Arena but it being stuck in 1.0 era Blitz rules puts me off of touching it at all. There just needs to be a rough outline of "pilot has less chance to survive the more the Gear is damaged or outright detroyed / overkilled.

>>96150711
ok, by AS I mean converting the Chaos Campaing too Blitz,im sorry I have no clue why but i conflate the chaos campaign with Alpha Strike all the time.

>>96150452
Battletech is...an amusing one.

People will endlessly argue for hours on the subject, but from what I can tell, the prevalence of battlemechs is...mostly a cultural phenomenon. They were first devised as a terror weapon designed to strike fear, and then they became a tool of the aristocracy to reinforce their power and prestige...and because the setting went full DUNE and never moved on past aristocracy nobody has ever given them up yet.

>>96150763
Gay I art

>>96150763
Yeah, with BT that was specifically a key technology that I took away as being a plausible reason for mechs, The rest of BT is not, If anything it kinda goes in the direction that >>96149915 was mentioning.

>>96150729
I haven't heard of Chaos Campaign before, what does the pilot rules in that look like? Another thing you could potentially do is look at Heavy Gear D6 Bravo over 4e if there's any streamlined pilot rules in that.

>>96150880
its really simple, basically you win a currency with every "track" or set of missions you participate in. and with each point/currency you can upgrade your skills, buy ammo (fairly useless for blitz, though) , buy units. vehicles. improve points. If I was on my tower I can probably post screenshots

>>96150808
Mechs in BT actually come into use because they demonstrate themselves to be superior weapons to tanks and such in combat.
The other guy is just a known shitposter that's fucking with you.

>>96151125
Superior to tanks, yes. Superior to ASF's, no.

>>96149915
This is a really gay worldbuilding stance because it implies that everyone uses mechs that actually just suck for a laugh. They might as well settle their problems with card games instead. You tabletop game is then a larp, of a larp.
It's much more fun when the setting just shrugs and says "mechs rule".

>>96150177
I keep saying this, votoms are enhanced infantry. They're supposed to be disposable and used in mass rushes. They're also still shockingly strong and completely devastate infantry or other light forces.
You can watch chirico get into a mech and absolutely waste people at a ludicrous rate in any other scene, there's no question what their use is. They're cheap and punch way above their weight, but that doesn't mean they suck or are pointless.

>>96150763
>They were first devised as a terror weapon designed to strike fear
And that's a retcon. Their first deployment was them kicking the shit out of a bunch of tanks cause they're just way better. It was later added onto by different writers that it was a farce and the tanks were shit and undergunned. Which is fucking stupid, and an example of american insecurity about power fantasies. They hate anything being too cool.

>>96151253
>it implies that everyone uses mechs that actually just suck for a laugh
I don't think you fully understand the appeal.

Mechs appeal to a fundamental part of the human spirit. They are a part of our soul. Humanity, at our very hearts, desires for mechanical embodiments of ourselves.

Now are they practical for combat? God no. But they are perfect for ceremonial purposes.

>>96151253
>Their first deployment was them kicking the shit out of a bunch of tanks
Outdated tanks with fewer weapons than the standard variant and controlled remotely.

This is like the equivalent of testing a weapon against some Somalian warlord's militia and then declaring it's the best in the world. You didn't even test it properly.

>>96151253
The retcon is pointless anyway because four mechs then go on to wipe out an entire modern armor company with infantry support.
But also that dude originally making all those claims about the lore is just baiting so I'd advise you to avoid engaging with him. Battletech has at least three complete troglodytes with some sort of vendetta against the setting, they constantly spout misinformation and headcanon to make any battletech discussion impossible. It sucks, things used to be better.

I like dragon mecha. The way I figure it, a civilization that could afford to use something like a mech would be so incredibly advanced that the actual form would cease mattering. So the mech becomes a symbol of their utter dominance, and what better a symbol than that of a fearsome dragon?

>>96151299
Oh yeah, he's also in the /btg/ right now insisting that the mechs are just ceremonial and le heckin combined arms are the real combatants.
It's all very underhanded stuff.

>>96151253
>This is a really gay worldbuilding stance because it implies that everyone uses mechs that actually just suck for a laugh.
There is in fact an established history of formal dueling resulting in ludicrously impractical weapons of minimal relation to standard military armaments, and even in jousting that was specifically supposed to be an element of real combat as sport it didn't take long for the equipment to diverge from proper field-use versions.

>>96151283
I think "completely facerolls when hilariously outnumbered" demonstrates fairly well, especially if the differences from peer field use are noted in enough detail to develop doctrine accordingly.

>>96151335
Even when it's because of a "One Unicorn" technology clearing the practical constraints making tanks better like artificial muscles or some REALLY bullshit for structure but garbage for armor material, the Western-typical six-limb arrangement can support quite a lot of technical solutions in a very compact package.

Wings are obvious, flight's ridiculously useful for all sorts of random bullshit and if you can make the limbs work there's a lot of variable geometry bullshit on offer, tail can tie into that and assists in using the forelegs as manipulators to not bother with separate engineering vehicles, usually using four legs helps with ground pressure and has a whole lot of mechanical efficiency options, and so on.

Won't look much like plausible organic dragons if you're serious about optimizing the form-factor according to the premises, but there does remain some argument in favor.

>>96151451
I always approach mechs more from a symbological POV rather than a purely mechanical view. The dragon mech, for example, can be taken as a triumph of several things.

Mechs are often espoused as a terror weapon, something used to inspire dread in the enemy, in which case taking the form of a terrifying mythological beast makes natural sense.

Additionally, since mechs are, in many ways, a triumph of the 'organic' design over 'artificial' designs (evolution has never produced a tank, or a plane, but it has produced bipedal creatures, and quadrupedal creatures), the dragon embraces that logic by being an apex predator which combines the certainty of steel with the savagery of nature.

And of course, everybody knows that mechs are kingmakers, so why not just skip to the end and make the dragon itself an imperious dragon-emperor?

Is a Pressure system, like Inverse BT Heat, a good system for a steampunk mech game?

>>96151737
Sounds good to me. though in practice its sounds like its just BTs heat system. If you were to differenciate it how are you doing so? Are you getting debuffed yhe less steam you have?

>>96151737
Sounds interesting to me. Though what differenciates it from BT? Do you get debuffs as you lose steam?

>>96150373
>they would have to have a problem that they just can't solve any other way, because mechs are a very expensive and maintenance heavy platform,

This is a bit of an exaggerated issue. Tanks, helicopters and jets are all expensive and maintenance heavy platforms, but they get used because they end up being efficient force multipliers for the costs (both maintenance and manpower). A tank turns 3 or 4 guys into a force that can handle 50 to 100 infantry. If a mech had the same maintenance costs as a tank, took only 1 man to pilot and was similarly effective tanks would be replaced with mechs.

Do the light anti-personnel rockets share the same model as the light rocket pack? I have some Hunter gears and I was considering the Wildfire varient. As far as I can tell, they don't have a seperate model like the LATM varients do.

Have you tried embryo machine? Is it simple enough to play in a language you barely understand (Japanese)?

>>96152057
Same model. Same for incendiary rockets.
>>96152531
You talking about the rpg, or the boardgame?

>>96151912
This is true, though somewhat alleviated by a humanoid form typically being not particularly better at killing than other forms. Dog forms on the other hand seem to be very promising along with quad-copters.

>>96152652
The RPG

>>96152678
What actually is the benefit of a human form? It seems like animals are just better as natural killers and if we did have mechs, they would just take the form of animals. Even for bipedal machines it would probably be better to model it off of a Gorilla.

>>96152652
>Same model. Same for incendiary rockets
Thanks. Follow up, is there a reason for why it isn't general upgrade option for any rocket pack to be swapped for anti-personnel rockets. Similar to how you can swap panzerfausts for hand grenades. or anti-tank missiles for airburst missles. Also now I'm wondering what to paint the rockets to signify that they're anti-personnel. I usually use red for the traditional rocket packs. Maybe military green?

>>96152761
Our form is a payoff for having extreme hand dexterity and brain mass, but a machine doesn't need to worry so much about that. Still, watch a monkey try to weave something. They just kind of can't do it.

For robots, it means they can use all our facilities and tools. People always get all "erm why isn't that robot a little thing on wheels" and then someone asks it to open a door, get milk out of a fridge and make them a coffee, and suddenly being a tiny weird little thing becomes a huge pain in the ass.

For mechs, it's because it looks cool. Makes a lot more sense for power armor or other limb-in-limb designs. You can do some good stuff with muscle tracer technology though, because a mech that's really just a big animated person with full control and dexterity actually would be pretty neat.

>>96152780
It will become an upgrade as you described in the upcoming Blitz version.
As for how to make it distinct, yeah color could work fine. Tho I think that's a bit overkill.

>>96152761
Power armor had an advantage for human form because cities and buildings are all designed for humans.

Bigger mechs however don’t really get much of an advantage from it, and would be better off with more animalistic designs.

>>96151837
>>96151780
The idea is that your boiler builds up X Steam per turn, and actions remove Steam.

I was inspired by Dragonmech, so it's contrasted against Galley Mechs whose oarsmen can temporarily sprint, but who tire out over the game; and clockwork which move like clockwork but whose power source is more sensitive to battle damage.

>>96149915
Smaller mecha (up to 4m tall) that are more just a super armored and highly versatile suit of super armor don't suffer from the issue of being overly expensive, inefficient or too big and you can very easily outfit a whole army with them. I can't find many examples of that aside from picrel or that girl from Overwatch though but the idea is right there.

>>96153418
>I can't find many examples of that
VOTOMS
Sakura Wars
Obsolete
Eden It's an Endless World
Ghost in the Shell/Appleseed
MaK
Rideback
Gall Force
Dorvack
Mospeada

>>96153590
Whatever show these were based on.

>>96153418
I think mini-mechs suffer from the issue of “why isn’t this just power armor?” At that point you have a mech that would be so much more useful if it was just a little smaller.

>>96153659
Can just give them same reasoning as any mech, the generators are just a hair too large. It also lets you skip around some of the more restrictive elements that power armor have, like being able to place the arms elsewhere, or transformation elements.
Power armor is pretty inflexible in design, certain things kind of just have to be a certain way.

>>96153626
I think that's from Megazone 23.

I like the way Obsolete handles its mechs.
>They’re extremely cheap to “buy”, because the aliens who are selling them to us want limestone in return, which is extremely cheap on the market and plentiful on Earth
>Implied to be partially organic, they have “blood” but can be easily repaired by just slapping the parts back on, although the frames can be broken apart easily enough, the pieces themselves are nigh indestructible
>The mechs are not actually weaponized, the aliens are only selling us the frames that move them, the armor, weapons, and other equipment all had to be developed natively
>They’re implied to be outdated junk by the alien’s standards, they’re basically selling us their equivalent of a rusty old Toyota Hilux, but we’re basically cavemen by their tech standards so this shit is amazing to us
>The mechs are considered a game changer for military power relations, because expensive weapons like carriers and tanks are able to be beaten by cheap mechs armed in someone’s garage

>>96153590
>>96153626
Viper's Creed
Kuromokuro
...

>>96150003
>>96150023
Gears aren’t weak; you just can’t use them like Battlemechs and expect they’ll live. They’re big infantry, and they’re good at the things infantry are good at but they’re bigger and stronger. They can’t take a tank headon but they’re bigger can outmaneuver it and hit it from cover; helicopters rape them if they don’t have anti-air guns or missiles but if they don’t then it’s the reverse. You just need to think about it like an actual military situation.

>>96150156
>>96150177
>>96150286
ATs aren’t as prone to instant death in the original VOTOMs show as they are in later material, it got exaggerated over time.

>>96150763
The prevalence of Battlemechs is because they’re straight-up better than conventional vehicles. This is reinforcement a ton in both fluffy and rules. *Why* they’re better is pretty dubious and incoherent but it was never just an illusion.

>>96151780
It seems like the reverse, where you’re spending points to do stuff. Which is how BT should have worked to start with.

>>96152761
Hands. They’re better than any other thing on any other animal. The most realistic “mech” would just be a little treaded thingy with arms and hands.

>>96155416
>The prevalence of Battlemechs is because they’re straight-up better than conventional vehicles.
Where this gets really weird is that ASF’s are NOT conventional vehicles, they’re basically flying battlemechs, and the sole exception to the “battlemechs are best” rule

>>96155431
Yes but their rules are so painful to use that they’re worse by default

>I've ran Battle Century G quite a bit. It was my first system I've ever successfully GM'd for and I will always liked it.
>My OSR-passionate friend keeps raving about Mecha Hack. He says its like an OSR, he likes OSR, he regularly runs OSR campaigns.
>our compromise is Lancer. Albiet for opposite reasons. He likes the concept and lore, but from what he's read he hates the mechanics. I absolutely hate both the setting and its tone, but I've heard its basically 4e and I've always wanted to try 4e.
Are the other two systems worth reading over? I don't mind playing OSR, but I don't really value it as a genre either. And I'd rather know if Lancer is worth the mainstream hype before buying. I'm not made of money.

>>96153659
I actually feel like mini-mechs could be more useful for certain reasons.
1. wheel based locomotion, you could do the Votoms/Gear thing of giving it traditional tires for road or flatland traversal.
2. superior strength, Any enhanced strength from power armor can only go so far before it breaks the limbs of the user.
3. bigger armaments, you could give a sawed off tank gun to a gear.
Plus you could shove it full of extras like neural nets to help with targeting and sub systems to take the heat off the pilot. And depending on how mini they are, they could still use human sized structures and objects like doors. Power Armor I feel like would be more beneficial for the "Armor" over the "Power"

>>96156490
>hey could still use human sized structures and objects like doors
This is the most important part imo

Everything else is largely secondary, but the ability to use human-sized structures and equipment is HUGE for a mini-mech's viability as a platform.

>>96156007
Lancer has a free rulebook if you just want to check it out. For an ideal experience you will likely have to strip something out of Lancer as is like the lore to get the most out of the experience.

>>96153355
Sounds cool. Is there any punishment for low or no steam? I could see how a mech would low steam would start to become non-functional. Like it can only fire small armaments.

>>96152830
>As for how to make it distinct, yeah color could work fine. Tho I think that's a bit overkill.
I suppose I could just keep it the same as how I normally paint my Gears. Then I could also get two varients for the price of one, since a Wildfire Hunter with a standard RP just becomes a Hunter Gunner.

>>96153590
These worth checking out? Besides votoms, gits and appleseeed, I've seen those ones

>>96156636
Making a building to size to work with pic-related makes more sense then one that is 60 ft tall.

Anyone tried this? Fuckers didn't even put the player gear for free and afaik itchio doesn't have a refund policy so I'm not sure if I wanna risk it, but I like the concept
https://pigsriot.itch.io/blood-money

Size has been the big killer for me. Ideally I want mechs to help in space boarding actions but even if they're the size of the ones in appleseed that's still a little too cramped for the submarine like halls in a spaceship

>>96152802
>>96152761
Zoids vs Gundams vs Battle Tech mechs who wins (ignoring Gundam's crazier stuff like psychic drones and nuke bazookas)

>>96157149
What type of spaceship is it? I feel like something that isn't purely a research/scout ship would have halls big enough to have mechs run around in it. Plus mecha can be on the external hull of the ship.

>>96157149
Let them be too big for space ship then. But make space stations large enough to fit mechs, or atleast to varying degrees. The cargo bay and main hallways should be plenty large enough to fit mechs. But then have maintenance tunnels and other side areas make your mech feel cramped, or perhaps even straight up inaccessible at parts. Claustrophobia is a tool not a problem.
Alternatively, take pages from >>96157269 and have the mechs stay on the outside of the ship. Think of them less as the boarder and more of the battery ram. Punching holes into the ship and yanking out the defenders into the cold vacuum of space. Let the differences in roles highlight the mechs power. It is not just a jet fighter who gets into dogfights, but a space dragon that terrorizes those beneath it.

>>96157548
>mfw the nukies got a mauler

>>96157848
*honks your path*

>>96158024
>*Honks eldritchly*

In Heavy Gear, a Combat Group is supposed to have 4 to 6 actions. But I've seen "Groups" that have less than 4 models. Which is it?

>>96158702
Correct. 4 to 6 "actions". A Kodiak for example has 2 actions so he takes up 2 slots within a CG.

>>96153355
I really like the way you've differentiated the "motive" options. I hope you will share more of your work with us as time goes on.

>>96156007
Check the links in the OP, you might find a solution to some of your concerns, at least in terms of saving money.

I enjoy Lancer, and am running a campaign right now. But you should know that Lancer is not a generic system like BCG or Mekton. I wouldn't use it to replicate VOTOMs or ZOIDS, for example, but it could do Exosquad pretty well.
I don't know enough about the Mecha Hack to say anything positive or negative.

>>96158969
Mecha Hack is really really REALLY lightweight. At around 40 pages. You'll either love or hate it. 4 pilot types and 4 chassis to pick from.

>>96156842
Obsolete is pretty much completely about people doing stuff with robots.
Sakura Wars is best enjoyed as a videya, because the characters are rather frustrating when all you can do is watch them - the first OVA was pretty good though.
Eden's okay, but gets weird and stalls out at some point.
Rideback's manga's about looking at women in the shower, the cartoon was okay but the plot went into some really odd directions for not apparent reason. Like there's a Sephiroth clone in a cartoon that used to be about Student's Protests. Very solid mecha parkouring though, when you get it.
Gall Force allegedly was good. Haven't seen it.
No idea about Dorvack and Mospada - Dorvack got its longlivety through scale modelers absolutely to town on some minor powered armour design, which probably influenced the creation of the MaK line while Mospeada seemed to have bee an important step in transforming motorcycle mecha design.
Mega Zone 23 was funded by the music industry, same as Macross.
Viper's Creed was mid to bad, I think.
Kuromokuro was kinda like Argevollen in that they had some good ideas and good delivery, but the highs never really managed to make up for the lows. You're better off watching Majestic Princes and Heroic Age.

Lancer's horus stuff seems pretty dope but nobody in my group wants to learn a new system
How tough would it be to run an LL0 game it if i never dm'd before?

Lancer is a bad ugly game with crap lore and shonky mechanics and I truly don't know why it keeps getting attention. Is it just because it wasn't made in the 80's, unlike the rest?

>>96156007
The thing is, it's more lightweight than OSR. I mean, it doesn't do stuff like facilitating exploration

>>96160104
(Cont'd), loot for xp, or many other OSR staples. At it's core, its a simple grid battle system with some stat blocks.

>>96149893 (OP)
>How much do you flavor your games with drama?
Drama is good. But I don't let it devolve into melodrama unless I'm playing with a good set of players. My current game went too far into melodrama for a while, so I'm trying to counterbalance it right now.

>>96155431
ASFs can't operate underwater, underground, or inside a Castle Brian. Can't effectively capture or hold territory. But yeah, stat-wise it is weird that they are just flying 'Mechs. Maybe that came about because of LAMs back in the day, and the developers wanted to make pure Aerospace Fighters better than hybrid Battlemechs.

>>96159753
Not hard. One of Lancer's strengths is that it isn't hard to put together a game. If you've never been a GM before, you might take a look at the Solstice Rain module (follow the pastebin), if only for some examples.

>>96159963
"Yeah? Well, you know, that's just like uh, your opinion, man."
And that's fine. I don't think it's the best or even my favorite mecha game, but it has some strong points that help it get attention.
Like I told the other anon, it isn't hard to put a game together for people new to the system. You don't have to custom design every NPC, you can just use the templates straight out of the book and it will work okay. And if you've got system mastery, you can do a lot more with it.
Also, like you said, it wasn't "made in the 80's" or derived from wargames. So it has a different feel to it, and campaigns play out in a different way. That's a matter of preference.
While it isn't as crunchy as older games, it also isn't as rules-lite as some other recent games. It fits into a middle ground. That makes it accessible for a wider range of players.

So I wanted to make a setting where they invented mechs before they invented tanks, and so the tank ended up being the cool new scary weapon to surpass mechs, but I wasn't sure how to go about that. My best three guesses for how to go about that approach are:

1) Tanks are actually an ancient weapon from an era where warfare was less ritualized and more barbaric, and the setting transitioned into mechs as society became more refined and honorable, but now has to figure out how to fight against tanks again from an enemy that doesn't care about honor

2) The society relied on some sort of organic-technology, the mechs were actually partially organic in some way, and since nature has produce legs and arms, but has never produced a tank tread or turret, they just never invented such things until they started building proper full-machine weapons

3) The setting actually has giants in it, and the 'mechs' were actually just power armor for giants that was adopted for human use, and they never bothered with tanks before because it seemed easier to just put a human in a giant's power armor

>>96162801
I like the giants idea

>>96162801
All three could work. 2 is probably the most plausable while 3 is the most out there fun. Something that could be cool is that maybe the mechs themselves start to adopt some of the tank qualities in order to keep up, like long distance field guns or treaded feet. Could work as PC incentives.

>>96149893 (OP)
so do Mecha RPG Plot generators exist out there? or am i gonna be stuck having too use genric sci fi ones and just adopt whatever i roll into my game?

>>96164278
Mecha encompasses everything from fantasy like Escaflown to military dramas like 08th MS Team to space operas like Macross.

It's really hard to come up with something generic.

>>96162801
Mine has two reasons for the rise of mecha over conventional weapon platforms
1: The Mind Machine Interface. When you allow a person to control their machine at the speed of thought, it is easier to train someone to control a mostly humanoid body instead of a tank or a helicopter. So what if the body is thirty feet tall?
2: It is easier to bind the spirit of mythological creatures if the vessel resembles them, same with the spirit of heroes.

>>96149893 (OP)
GM here, on the TQ:
>Naturally the nature of mecha is war and war is human drama.
Hard disagree. Not drama but about war. Mechs have tons of uses beyond war if you have any sort of imagination. Just like many weapons and tools. Security, exploration, collections, sports, construction, technology and research, entertainment. Limiting mechs to war machine is either a setting or a skill issue.
Sure, if your setting is some grimdark sci-fi hellhole where everyone is in war 24/7 and it's all everyone thinks about then it's natural that mechs would be meant for war only, but anywhere else, they can fill WAY more roles than your average military weapon. Or maybe they're too expensive so only military forces use them. Anyways I find both of those situations very, very boring so it's not what I use in my setting. There are a lot of things people can do with "human but bigger"

Drama happens everywhere so that's not really exclusive to war and mecha. I like my games with a balanced tone, in the sense that not everyone is a crazy piece of shit 24/7 and there are good people and good things to care about and fight for.

>>96162801
Giants, always giants. That said if mechs are repurposed power armor for giants than the next logical step is making tanks as well, also repurposed tanks for giants. That way it better justifies mechs more in the setting as they are going to naturally more commonplace because they are cheaper to maintain, more portable, and only require the one pilot.
But if you have the money, logistics, and manpower. Than the main tank gun can straight up one shot any mech if you let it load it, and its will certainly shred through any would-be ace that is bold enough to assume its "secondary weapons" aren't better than anything a mech would have available.

>>96164796
Battletech is pretty much built around battlemechs but even in-universe mechs were used for hundreds of years for purely non-military purposes before they were made viable war machines via technological breakthroughs.

>>96164796
A game where the mech pilots are the equivalent of having a CDL license instead of being jet fighter grade certainly is appealing.

>>96164539
>1: The Mind Machine Interface. When you allow a person to control their machine at the speed of thought, it is easier to train someone to control a mostly humanoid body instead of a tank or a helicopter. So what if the body is thirty feet tall?
See, I like the idea of this, but in reverse.

Mechs are prevalent because of the mind-machine interface...but then AI that can control vehicles is invented. And AI has no need of 'familiarity', its coding prefers the most efficient platform for the job at hand, so you end up tanks and planes that have no need whatsoever for ergonomics or crew-comfort.

>>96164852
This is fun too though. A tank, built for giants, would naturally be fucking huge, so mechs would have a role as the 'infantry' of the setting

>>96164999
No one uses AI for weapons of war in my little autism homebrew, because it's far too easy to just with them. The lack of a soul makes them incredibly vulnerable to even the simplest of magic, since they are effectively just a pile of rocks tricked into thinking on a metaphysical level.
This is one reason for the explosion of MMI, because by linking the mind to the machine, the soul expands to fill the empty space, warding it against lesser magic. You can tell a pile of metal to rust quite easily, can't tell a person made of metal as easily.

>>96164539
I was really big on the idea of "remote" piloting where the pilot would essentially transfer their mind into the machine via a black box proxy and control it that way.

My justification was that non-Human forms can't be inhabited for long because it fucks with the pilots mind where as the humanoid machine was more naturally familair and allowed them to stay in that form longer.

>>96164918
my furfag modern day setting has mechs being used nearly everywhere after they were introduced because the tech that is used for them is super easy to reproduce and they use very common modern day tech and materials for all its other parts.

>>96165153
Your post reminded me of the Integration setting, where all the furries are macros that are the size of the human mechs, and the mechs were made specifically so that humans could interact with the macro furries face to face.

>>96164999
>A tank, built for giants, would naturally be fucking huge
Yes
>so mechs would have a role as the 'infantry' of the setting
Yes and no while being a mix of both. What I was suggesting is that mechs are mechs of the setting. Even while being repurposed power armor, theyre still a machine. You could have a mech that fullfills the role of a space marine. But a mech doesn't feel pain, it doesn't care if its dismembered, it doesn't even need to physically carry a weapon since it could have Intergrated weapons or its weapons are mounted on various locations of the body. If I was making this sort of setting, I'd have older mech be more general-purpose and more akin to power armor with a little man inside. So functioning hands that carries a main weapon that can be swapped out as roles change, with any sort secondary weapons or equipment being clear add-on packs. Meanwhile newer mechs are made with being more mechs in mind. Intergrated weapons are common, more likely to have weapons spread out across the whole platform, less human shaped overall designs. And definitely more specialized to specific roles. You can have absolute juggernauts who are effectively budget tanks, mobile Artillery, or even jetfighter-styled mechs like the ones from macross. Think Zaku vs Madcat

Also I was assuming OP wanted tanks to be somewhat rare. Like a super weapon from Ace Combat. Or at the very least, not something you would find far from a supply line.

>>96165189
I try to not make my setting feel like a fetish thing. It just has cute anthro people and that's kind of as far as it goes on that front.

>>96165065
That works well, although I find it removes a bit of the drama. Throwing your body into the fray, even if it's encased in whatever unobtainium the mech is made out of, is always more thrilling than death being just an annoyance.
>>96165153
"Boss, why is the bulldozer a cat girl?"
"Well, it's called a Cat, right?"
"Caterpillar, boss..."
"Welp, she's already paid for."
>>96165189
Isn't that the one with the giga bunny girls?
>>96165440
Filling your game with your fetish is fine. Just don't FOCUS on your fetish. Yes, the world has cute giant furries in it. You are mech jocks in that world. Mount up, you need to go do riot duty because plot.

>>96165520
>Isn't that the one with the giga bunny girls?
Yes.

>>96165520
>Throwing your body into the fray, even if it's encased in whatever unobtainium the mech is made out of, is always more thrilling than death being just an annoyance.

I agree so psychic trauma from the injuries your mech suffers would have been a thing.

What if there was actually a schism in a mecha-religion, with some people adhering to the humanoid form being perfect in and of itself, needing only mechanical upliftment, thus resulting in the creation of humanoid mechs with human pilots, while others saw the human form and mind as being limitations to be exceeded, creating stranger mechanical robots with different forms and artificial minds?

>>96165189
>so that humans could interact
uhum. "Interact"

>>96165751
Well, there's also the OTHER fun part of being a tiny man in a big robot...

Getting ripped out of your mech by said giant furries and reminded of how very small and helpless you truly after....

>>96165567
Shinji didn't lose control of his Eva and let it run amuck. He just entered autist rage mode because
>STOP HURTING ME!
goes a lot further when you are twenty stories tall. I do love a good sanity system in my game, because sometimes you need to remind your players that they aren't just playing with a pile of numbers on a sheet, it's a little make believe person.
>>96165751
>>96165764
This is why the last time I was allowed to design my own mech, it was power armor inside a gear inside a mecha that slotted into a transforming spaceship ala SDF-1 but smaller. When living in a mecha world, always be in the mecha!

>>96165153
>half the table are HMOFA enjoyers
>other half are early 2000s level of hate for furries
Who dare I appease?

>>96165948
Yourself, because you are running the game and there is never a shortage of players.

>>96165972
I normally get that. But overall I like my group and it's hard to form a Christian table.

Very proud, I used to have spider mechs in my setting; reorganizing it right now and I was able to save them from the chopping block

I dunno if I preferred the "what if mecha was just ceremonial and it actually sucked and tanks beat them all" guy over "what if mecha can be a space to explore my furry macro fetish?". Either way, it's clearly not about the mechs at all with either.

>>96166507
Do you not understand the concept that mecha can be used to explore ideas outside of just the mechs themselves?

>>96166507
Isn't MOST media using mecha just "ooh, cool fight!" filler to The Themes? Only one I can think of that I'm confident is primarily ABOUT the mecha is Metal Skin Panic.

>>96166507
>"what if mecha was just ceremonial and it actually sucked and tanks beat them all" guy over "
Not at all what was said.
>what if mecha can be a space to explore my furry macro fetish?
Not too far off from from pic related.

>>96166581
I mean according to that retard Macross would 'not be about the mechs' because of all the pop-star singing and culture stuff.

>>96166001
I get that, given this day and age of degenerates.
However, as a degenerate I ask you this: How much of Jesus's teaching encourages hatred? I get that there are certain groups who, through their actions, deserve all the hate in the world. However, I see no reason to hate someone simply because they wish to ride comfortably upon the mammoth busom of their titanic furry wife.
Just don't make it weird.

>>96166540
>>96166572
>>96166581
>>96166596
Please don't demean macross by comparing it to this
>>96165526
>>96165764
>>96165751
Look at this shit. Is that what macross is to you? "ooh what if a big furry pulled me out of my mech and swallowed me whole!"? Macross deserves better than that and you should be ashamed of trying to defend it with this "I'm just trying to think outside the box!" angle. Why don't you instead think outside of your cock cage?

>>96166581
>Not at all what was said.
Then I'm not talking about whatever you think I am, I'm talking about the guy posting in two different threads and also making other threads about the topic. It's not my fault if you haven't noticed it.

>>96166731
The fact that your mind can't comprehend the beautiful symbolism and ideas behind a human existing in a world of those with immense strength but being able to stand on equal footing with the power of machinery, yet still being reminded of the fragile truth behind said machinery, says a lot about you, and I don't think a mind as small as yours could truly appreciate macross.

Do you prefer rule heavy or light systems?

>>96166874
Light, but only because I'm an illiterate dumbass with ADD. I feel like my autistic side would prefer crunchy stuff if I could get another person to babysit GM me.

I just mentioned I have a system with furries but they're not fetishized or anything it's mostly a setting for mecha adventures.

>>96152706
Ah. Well, why would you vother with the Japanese version? A fan translated the rules a lottle while ago.

>>96166656
Most of the group is more passive. But the two camps are spearhead by two people who often butt heads over effectively everything. The pro-HMFOA is a headed by a Catholic who is politically moderate, loves older media, and mocks conspiracy theorists. He claims "There is nothing wrong with furries, just with lust. If there is sapient life out there, and despite all scientific odds is capable of procreation with humans. Then it would be a sign of God's will." The anti-furry camp is spearheaded by an out spoken non-denomination (Baptist) who is far-right, openly mocks old media, and actively watches conspiracy theory podcasts. His reasoning is "Having sex with beasts is degenerate and any alien lifeforms we meet are demons in disguise."

It sounds like a philosophical debate between weather you see furries more as humans or animals. But in truth, These two just can hardly ever agree on much.

>>96166788
You said that when your parents caught you beating off to starfox fucking a skyscraper.

>>96166507
Mecha being ceremonial =/= Mecha sucking

>>96167160
Things don't get relegated to purely ceremonial roles for no reason, anon. Either they're horribly outdated but kept for aesthetics, wholly impractical for anything that actually involves combat, shitty-but-impressive-looking, or wholly outside the society's ability to manufacture so there's only a small number around.

>>96167494
Neither of those things applies to jousting weapons.

>>96166963
Dude, Anti is going to cause some sort of party splitting hissy fit eventually. Just consider how Christian he acts, not how pious he talks.

>>96166963
>Catholic is a lying nonce
>Protestant so obnoxious it defeats his argument
The jokes write themselves

>>96171315
I don't think he's lying, I think he genuinely believes it. Both him and his brother like anthro, but neither is exclusive to it. When asked both say something along the lines of "I just like attractive women, and a furry is basically 90% human."

Are quad mechs cool?

>>96166894
I always heard that furry artists refuse to draw mechs and mecha artists refuse to draw furries
Also I would play a Star Fox game

>>96162303
That's a beautiful image

>>96172667
Drawing machinery and drawing soft organic features like fur are pretty different skillsets.

>>96172667
When artists begin their journey they make a oath

Either they will refuse to EVER draw armor and/or mecha-
Or, they will never draw furries and anthros.

...However.
There is a third type. ones that have chosen the impossible.
There are the artists that only draw mechs and furries.
The power they wield is beyond this world.

For the root of mecha- anthropomorphism, is the same that furries share in their core.

>>96172807
the autism that overlaps mechs and furfags is surprisingly close, they're just afraid to get near each other

>>96172807
>im a furry IRL
>I dedicated myself in elementary school too only ever draw mecha
>I cant actually draw antrhos worth a shit outside of vomit barf scrunkly queer webcomic style (kate wortz if you know what the fuck im even talking about)
>mean while im basically able too recreat most of the iconic shots from Gundam 0079 too near accuracy and draw scopedogs from memory
why did i fuck up specing out my life in the early years

where did all you fucking furfags come from

Issue 0 of Albedo had furry mecha concept art on the back cover, so there's probably an alternate universe out there where the Albedo TTRPG has mechs in it and fits here.
No more brother wars.

>>96172816
>>96172860
Wow all of this thoughtful musing about how furries are totally super connected to japanese giant robots is really gonna make me cool with homos posting fetish art and trying to erp in the thread.

>>96173377
Why are you posting furry you freak ew

>>96158969
>Exosquad
I didn't think another soul on this planet has had the pleasure of seeing this show. It gets almost 0 discussion on /m/. If the mechs weren't so ugly it'd be almost the perfect mech show.

>>96173633
Exosquad used to be discussed much more frequently on /m/, but most everyone from the old days have better things to do than deal with the schizos who've ruined the place over the years.

>>96172854
Mechs and furries are basically the same concept, and in some cases, pretty much building off of each other.

>>96173704
One look at the Digimon fanbase makes it abundantly clear how much overlap there is between furry and mecha.

>>96173866
A Wargraymon figure found an instant place in my mecha miniatures collection (albeit with some small conversions)

>>96173866
>>96173970
Very perceptive digibros. It's a series that throws out a lot of concepts and if any one was missing, it'd feel incomplete. If you complain about furries and waifumons, then you never deserved cool dinosaurs and mecha knights

>>96173970
That's a fun lil conversion

>>96174055
Agreed. Digimon is great b/c of how wide of a net it casts thematically while somehow still feeling mostly consistent in art direction.

It's okay to furry erp in the mecha tabletop games thread, because of digimon.

>>96166928
Because I'm going to Japan soon and I want to play ttrpgs while I'm studying there

>>96149934
Heavy Gear and Metallurgent are two I'd recommend. You can do vehicles in Lancer but you've gotta be creative and change up the NPCs a bit.

>>96164918
Fathomless Gears is pretty close to this. You're catching sea monsters with mechs, much closer to being a blue collar fisherman than something like Pacific Rim

>>96172854
Furries and tech bros are a huge overlap as it is.

>>96165904
>Psychological trauma

Nah, I'm more in like with Iron Blooded Orphan where dude couldn't walk unless he was hooked up to the gundam.

To remove the risk of physical harm and death even if you arn't physically there removes all drama as been said. It's the same sort of thinking where people think drones and missles solve all military matters and conflicts.

>>96173633
>>96173680
I think I used to have one of these figures as a kid. I'm half tempted to dig through my closet to see if I do or not.

>>96173633
Exosquad is one of those gems from a strange era. It was only funded to sell toys, while the crew tried to make as serious a war drama as they could fit into a cartoon time slot. Yet another parallel to Mobile Suit Gundam, in that regard.

>>96173680
Hell, that's just about every board these days

>>96176657
>Fathomless Gears
Huh. Thanks for letting me know this existed. Also funny seeing it from Interpoint Station, because I was in a Lancer game a few years back with a similar premise...

>>96173633
People who are 45 remember it very fondly--I promise. I don't know anyone my age who doesn't know and love exosquad.
>parallel to Mobile Suit Gundam
Robotech, actually. Exosquad is in the Robotech universe, technically.

>>96176915
>>96176939
>>96176968
Exosquad needs to be remembered more.
Tackled real life issues in a weekday cartoon slot.
I wish it got a third season featuring the aliens.

>>96174141
I wanted to make some NieR:Automata-inspired robots a couple of years back.

>>96159408
Gall Force was good, but had multiple showings, with very different ideas mixed in.

>>96176968
I saw it with my brother last year when it was put on Peacock. I think the gundam parallels comes from the Sapes having a background and political ideology closer to Zeon.
>Robotech, actually. Exosquad is in the Robotech universe, technically.
But how does that even make sense?

>>96178088
>But how does that even make sense?
I absolutely am not claiming it makes sense. But since Robotech is 3 different redubbed, spliced animes to start with, let's not pretend that making sense was ever a priority. The toylines converged and they released varitech exosquad toys and, if it had gotten another season, the zentrodi were intended to appear in it because "he let's re-sell toys we've already got."

>>96178284
WELL GEE I sure am glad it never ended up happening, which means ES can stay clear of the shitpile that is Robotech.

>>96178519
Yeah the thing that bugs me is that, if you take Exosquad and Pirates of Dark Water and l, the US was on the verge of having its own young adult animation industry. Unfortunately it was expensive, and then the Sci-Fi channel officially brought "japanimation" to cable tv and the market said "ah fuck it" and it never went anywhere.

>>96178600
>Exosquad and Pirates of Dark Water and l,
*and Liquid Television is what I meant to write. No idea why I failed to finish that statement.

>>96178600
And then they later decided adult animation should be characters standing around in 3/4 poses delivering lines. Took them years to even begin to recover from that one.

>>96178600
I kind of miss how in the 90s and early 2000s that Toonami aired both anime and western action shows like Justice League and Johnny Quest. I imagine Symbiotic Titan and the 2011 Thunder Cats would've fit right at home if Tom 4 showed more than Naruto filler until it got shut down

Is there an example of a mech that is also a boat/sub and able to fly? I'm trying to design some mechs and want to check against existing work.

>>96153659
Would it? If anything it’s the reverse, mini-mechs won’t tire you out.

>>96173633
You’d also need to make the characters less ugly.

>>96178284
>>96178519
That’s not actually true at all, they just rereleased some robotech toys with Exosquad packaging. There were never real plans for a crossover

For me, it's amphibious mechs. I love the Z'Gok and Acguy.

>>96180035
Apparently the original character designs were gonna be uglier and frankly unpleasant. We got the best we could've realistically gotten from its era.

>>96151253
>an example of american insecurity about power fantasies
>They hate anything being too cool
Tell me you never met an American without telling me, this is like 90% of what they do.

>>96150763
When I still played Battletech, traditional vehicles of equivalent tonnage got their shit pushed on all the time, their only advantage was certain weapon classes generated no heat so they could afford to spam them constantly.

>>96151283
>Outdated tanks with fewer weapons than the standard variant and controlled remotely.
This would be the retcon he mentioned in the same post.

>>96151267
>Now are they practical for combat? God no.
They're fictional technology, they're as practical and effective as you want them to be.

>>96181585
I think it's accurate. They love the john everyman, they want a guy of no real description killing a thousand enemy soldiers because his bullets hit and theirs don't, or because he puts down a stick of dynamite and whistles and they all walk over and pick it up and go "huh!?!?" and then blow up.

If you make him a half-demon or give him cyborg enhancements a bunch of them start getting mad because that's a "power fantasy", like the other sort isn't. This is part of the american obsession of mechs totally sucking ass. They see something cool and exaggerated and are inexplicably driven to take it down a notch.

>>96181611
I think he's referring more to how broken the ASF rules can be

Alright /tg/ you're tasked with making these two your main factions for a homebrew, what creative writing are you bringing to the table?

>>96182033
Does /x/ mix well with /m/ stuff? And you said two, why is Uranus there and what is attached to it going hue hue?

>>96178284
>>96180035
Imagine if they managed to release this thing then claimed afterwards that BT was also part of the same universe.

>>96182144
>what is attached to it going hue hue?
Looks like the bunny skunk from Captain Earth.

>>96182033
>>96183757
I assume it's being posted by the only guy who gives a fuck about it, duel.

>>96183824
Ah yes, common boogeyman for Turner Diaries readers on /m/.

>>96182033
Fuck off with the demons.

>>96182330
The exo suits could be statted up as either battle armor or protomechs, probably

>>96172854
>>96176883
This.
It's two sides to the same coin of autism.

(That's why I also refuse to make a scifi setting that doesnt have both fluffy catgirls and pilotable robots)

>>96172854
>>96176883
This.
It's two sides to the same coin of autism.

(That's why I also refuse to make a scifi setting that doesnt have both fluffy catgirls and pilotable robots)

>>96184085
Size wise they are BA but performance wise they are LAM protomechs. Which means any BT fanatics would have an aneurism if they see them on the table.

Had a dream today that DP9 released a new Eden unit that looked like a big FLAIL, with the body of a Armiger. Don't know what the hell my brain was cooking but I was kinda sad to wake up and realize it didn't exist.

>>96184110
goddamnit I missed the furry's fatfinger

>>96184197
Well now I have to make LAM protomechs. Thanks, anon. Thanks.

>>96184406
The biggest crime is Protomechs not having rollers/landspinners and instead we got Quad-Vees in their place. When by the rules of BT there is actual tangible benefit for sticking wheels on ultra-light vehicles. 5-6 ton Protomech with rollers would get 3-4 bonus movement on the road.

What system would you guys recommend for a Macross-style space opera? I was thinking about picking up the paid SWN which has mecha rules, but I've been told that Mekton does this sort of thing out the box.

>>96184706
Yeah, Mekton does it perfectly fine. Check out Starblade Batallion sourcebook for examples of meks and spaceships that would be perfectly fine in Macross or similar world.

>>96184764
Mekton is basically CP's Interlock? I've played a bit of Red before, although I don't own the books.

>>96184773
Yeah, it's based off Interlock. Though the old 2020 version not the Red remake.

Noble Knight Games has had a discount going on for a while. How much longer will it last?

>>96181636
>They're fictional technology
They're not fictional, we have IRL mechs, they're just pretty slow and not very flexible.

What system would you recommend for power armour and the size of stuff between power armour and roadstrikers/votoms/gears?

>>96186783
A number of cyberpunk systems have some sort of mini-mecha.
for example: CP2020; Infinity; Metalhead

>>96186783
Mekton Zeta is perfectly viable for any mecha scaling from power armor to SDF-1.

>>96185136
Don't know, but it depends on what you're looking for. Some things are 15% off, others are 30% off. Shipping, at least for me, is like $8.50. Fortress miniatures and games has a consistent 10% off with cheaper shipping in general. You could look into them if/when noble ends their sale.

How do you guys feel about the crunch of Silhouette works out in practice, since this seems to be one of the few places that talks about Heavy Gear and Jovian Chronicles

>>96186783
CP2020 (Maximum Metal book) and Mekton Zeta have good rules for that.

Surprisingly Battletech also works perfectly fine - due to how wheels work (suspension factor) vehicles under 10 ton get a decent bonus to speed if they use wheels. A 3 ton power armor/protomech without rollers would have say speed 2-3, but with rollers it can go to 9/14 on the road. Of course BT itself does nothing interesting with this bit.

>>96188620
In my experience Silhouette (3ed) is pretty nice. The only part we changed is made wound penalties non-stackable for healing to make people a little less mortal. Otherwise you a lot of the time get shot and basically become a walking corpse, since you are running on fumes waiting while your blood runs out as no one going to be able to move you to a hospital within 5 minutes. I suppose it's pretty realistic but kinda a bummer for the game.
So we made it that penalties for healing are separate for each wound severity.

>>96188800
FUCK! Second edition. I didn't play 3ed.

>>96149893 (OP)
>TQ
I like to setup scenarios so the players (if they act in their own best interest) often create the tragedy and get their own feelsbadman type moments. Sometimes it works great, but it's never a guarantee.

>>96068264
I actually have a bunch of pepsi-cap Big (little) Zams to use a mass-produced Big Zams lmao

>>96070354
Sorry, meant to reply but got busy before the thread closed. That GM stat card looks fascinating, you got any more of them?
And yeah I hear you on wanting to stat up obscure MS, I think we've done about 90% of all the 1/400 figures from 0079-0087 at this point.

>>96070500
I never found a Type-61 from G Sight but I do have a couple from the MSIA line, which I don't think is too scale. I should check sometime.
The bloodhound hovertruck is a perfect size.

>TQ

Right now? Heavily. Mecha in my setting are a mix of Knight & Starfleet Officer (they're even called Cavaliers in universe)- They're not just warriors, but civil servants and explorers. The extreme toughness of a combat frame makes them ideal for handling conflicts on a small scale & as a deterrence against encroaching threats.

By the way, do any of you know the Lancer ruleset well enough to convert an Ancient Red Dragon into that system? I'm not super confident in my ability to do it by myself

Look what I got

>>96190998
Nice. Maschinen Krieger always looked like it would make a cool wargame if its designs ever got used for one.

>>96191036
Apparently two sets of rules exist - the one ones from the 80s for 1/35 and a new set for 15mm.

I have a dilemma before me. Buy a Spitting Cobra and Two Black Adders for my MILICIA mashup, or four Water Vipers for my Gardenia offshoot army?

I know what im getting into with Water Vipers (more or less), but i have no experience with Black Adders. How much luck do you guys get with them?

>>96191146
>a new set for 15mm
Really? Can you get 15mm minis?

>>96188800
Thanks. How does the complaint about Dex+Piloting being the God Stat/Skill play out in practice, and the limited granularity once you go over 4 dice in the pool play out in practice?

>>96191276
Dex?
I'm pretty sure both Mekton and Heavy Gear don't have Dex, at least HG doesn't have it in second edition.

For Mekton it would be Reflexes, and how godly they are would heavily depend on the setting you are using. Macross or Armored Core lookalikes it is close enough, for something like Battletech it would be way less so.

For HG, don't forget that by the time you get 4 dice in a pool you probably want to start fishing for those double sixes. Since your opponents are either on your own level or swarm you and you need to take a lot of actions to deal with them. If you are still worried about it you can change multiple action penalty from -1 to the roll result to -1 die to the roll on all actions per action after the first, I tried that and it probably works even better than default.

>>96189814
use the monstrosity template as a base and build from there
give it maybe the pyro's flamethrower as a breath weapon, increase the cone size
give it flight
frightful presence would just be everyone makes a system save or impaired

>>96191255
Not a southie so I can only speculate. Whats the general feel of your current south army? Did you start with the starter. My gut is leaning towards the Adders since you cant go wrong with 5/1 H/S and Field Armor. Water Vipers are nice too so I can see the dilema, however if you have Mambas then you're probably fine without them.

>>96165189
>the mechs were made specifically so that humans could interact with the macro furries face to face.
"Shinji! Use the progressive rolled-up newspaper!"

>>96192477
thanks anon, that's perfect

>>96191259
https://slave2gaming.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=90_87_105&product_id=494

Gotta import them from Down Under, though.

>>96157149
man fuck it and just go full 40k with cathedral sized corridors n shit
>but why are the ships so big
I dunno maybe they need to have big interiors to balance the jak-goon hyperboson field or some technobabble like that

>>96189568
>I think we've done about 90% of all the 1/400 figures from 0079-0087 at this point.
At any point do you plan on doing stats for any AoZ units beyond the ones in the 1/400 line? I know that it seems like there are quite a lot of units but most of them (from the original AoZ) are the same 4-5 base designs with different option parts equipped.

>>96191522
HG 2e had AGI, which is basically the same

>>96180025
I don’t know of any boat/sub/mech combinations outside of Gundam’s various aquatic types (don't forget the Cancer from Wing). As design principles go, with enough thrust anything is a rocket and anything with positive buoyancy is a boat. Being a submarine is trickier as you have to have equipment to adjust your buoyancy on the fly and design margin you invest in that probably deadweight in any other sort of operation. I’m not telling you no, just saying there’s a reason you mostly see 1) “normal” mechs with scuba tank + UPU a la aquatic GMs
2) submarines w/ limbs to awkwardly mecha for a bit before RETVRN to FISH a la Acguy/Z’gog
3) “normal” mecha launched from a submarine carrier/pod that does all the weird boat stuff

As to inspiration, I say look at actual flying boats as they’ve got cool design elements that are fairly fresh (it worked for Porco Rosso). I love Outlaw Star to bits but if your design ends up looking like a grappler ship, please reconsider.

>>96196030
>why so big
No need for technobabble, just good ole highly conservative naval architecture. To wit, the hatches and passageways of a ship should accommodate the largest piece/sub-assembly of equipment inside a given compartment. Stuff wears out and breaks. Anything that can’t be moved into/out of a room will require a shipyard to cut apart your ship to get at the item in question when something goes wrong. Maybe that’s acceptable for a handful of key items, especially if there’s no way to carry spares, but those should be the exception on ship that otherwise can continue being ship with just a steady supply of parts and motivated manpower. Bigger hallways mean you can accommodate bigger stuff (and improve ergonomics and crew morale to boot).

>>96180025
Very technically the Yggdrasil IV from Xenogears, though I'm not sure if the whole thing is submersible/aquatic or just the Yggdrasil III component.

>>96196536
Which AOZ designs were you thinking of?
IIRC the 1/400 line had the Hazel and Gaplant + Asshimar variant. Too bad we never got a GM Sniper III (or II for that matter)

>>96180025
Getter Robo and its derivatives were designed (in universe) with different modes to be able to operate in different environments. Of course, these are not as realistic as the silly Soviet tank-sub-plane designs of the Cold War.

>>96203278
I was thinking of the mid-late Gryps designs like the Hazel Custom, Owsla, TR-5 Gaplant and TR-6 series which could all be augmented by the same optional parts like the Hrududu (I & II) (similar to the G-Defenser), shield boosters (which are shields and sturm boosters combined), long blade rifle (a battleship cannon with a melee option), composite shield cannon , enhanced sensors (which could work like how the Z+ C1 has enhanced shooting sensors compared to the A1) etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXCx1IjM39A

Hmm, what could this stream be for

>>96206578
Consider me tuned

>>96206578
>Shepherds when burning all of Home to the ground
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP9BjKnDaFk&t=66s

>>96208370
C'mon! This is just like Alderan! Can't the rest of us play on it first for a while?

>>96162303
>If you've never been a GM before, you might take a look at the Solstice Rain module (follow the pastebin), if only for some examples.

Will do, thanks anon
Also the m3g4 link seems to be dead

Which system gets the closest to high speed mecha like armored core?

>>96210942
Any system using the knife game for conflict resolution.

>>96210914
>>96162303
Im gonna be that guy
I dont like solstice rain/winter scar
primarily because Kai Tave wrote them, and kai tave is a huge fucking retard who doesnt even play lancer
Admittedly, though, they are good for introducing new players, just be careful with the encounter balance. Solstice rain can be ball bustingly hard in a few sitreps and winter scar is mind-numbingly easy

>>96209841
Don't worry. We'll get to play with the ashes just like Peace River.

>>96210942
Armored Core has had its own official TTRPG (in moonrune). There’s been homebrews for it, the closest would be LANCEHOUNDS I think. Be warned, it’s one of those that’s almost but not quite finished. ChromeStrike might work for you too, but that is similarly almost finished.

>>96210942
To me, fast equals light so if you could handle ejecting the garage aspect of AC I'd say Mecha Hack. That's losing a huge charm of the series though imo. You could also check out something like Chromestrike for homebrew options or wait for the official ACRPG
Side note, what's going on with the ACRPG? I'm guessing nobody has translated it yet.

>>96211286
I'll try translating it when I'm proficient in Japanese (in 5 years or so)

>>96211319
Domo arigato Mr anon-o.

>>96211286
If you really want the autistic garage building I have to recommend Lancehounds over ChromeStrike. It's based on I think the 5th generation games, so there's the whole thing about armor types as well as swapping in and out parts. But ChromeStrike is a lot more easily usable, I think.

>>96210942
Apocalypse Frame

>>96206578
It's about to begin!

>>96152761
If the operator could actually perform at human levels of dexterity through some kind of mind-machine interface, the human form makes more sense because the person operating the platform is human-shaped.

It would be funny to have a setting where the pilots of different war machines all use neurolink technology to increase their control, but this fucks tankers and jet pilots up because they start "feeling" like tanks or helicopters even when they're outside of the cockpit because all the controls for those things are mapped over their real bodily impulses.

>Flyboy always cocks his head at a 45 degree angle when drinking through a straw
>Tanker forgets how to pivot his head, pivots his whole upper body to look at things
>You can tell what kind of vehicle they're used to by how they wait in line at the commissary

HEAVY GEAR 3 IN DEV

>>96206578
>>96212989
Please for the love of god I hope this doesn't get fucked like Assault did. This will have singleplayer content right? Honestly it could be as mediocre as MW5, but as long as it has modding capabilities I'll be content. Also what are the chances of getting HG1 and HG2 on GOG?

>>96212989
From the stream chat with the devs:
>Single player, no esports shit
>Open world - focused on the Badlands - TN focus rather than the colonies ETC
>Era - right after the end of the war of the alliance, to ease in players new to the universe.
>devs really want to try and make vehicles mountable

>>96213063
Fucking thank God. This is what I've wanted from a mech game for decades.

>>96213063
Oh neat, I guess they are using the same model as the Mercenaries line of MechWarrior/HG1s Tour of Duty mode. Keeping it TN 1930 was a good call since I can't imagine how chaotic it would be to try and do the second CEF invasion. Weirdly I guess this makes it a prequel to HG2. I hope the devs are actively playing HG2 since to me it's the standard that mech sim games should follow. If i had to point out some mechanics that I hope they keep in mind and some wishlist ideas
>Active/Passive Radar gameplay, specifically for indirect attacks via guided mortors / anti-tank missles.
>Melee combat is a must, hell if they felt brave enough they could try doing Doom 2016 style glory kills with vibroblades.
>Maybe make slightly better stealth mechanics than what HG2 had, a F6-16 frame just looking a talon gear in the face was silly.
>I always liked how one could pick up weapons from an enemy in HG1/2. A Hunter rocking a HAC from a slain Cobra is a cool image
>Being able to direct squadmates for recon work or fire mission support would be cool, could make the mechanics feel better than HG1/2 in this regard.
Other stuff isn't necessary but could be cool, I feel like you could divide SMS and standard movement to how FPSs are nowadays and how mech sims used to be with the turret controls. Basically SMS could be how mech sims used to control with the turret/body aiming where as standard Gear movement could follow something more modern ala Titanfall and AC6.
Oh and do please implement some modding support. Could even just be me fucking around with a Scopedog model swap.

>>96213149
Reminder that they could not make a Terranova Strike Force Centauri today

>original engine
>inverse kinematics
>Team AI that just works
>missions that aren't just "Here's 25 swarms"
>missions that build on each other and that can be solved in different ways if you can be arsed to pay attention to the story and briefings

Meanwhile, the current batch of MW couldn't even deliver a Clan game with Batchall mechanics.

>>96213310
Yeah, I'm keeping my expectations low If I'm brutally honest. Would love to be proven wrong but with stuff like MW5 and the Front Mission demakes, I just feel kind of burned on a lot of modern mecha vidya. AC6 was a miracle that was as polished as it was from Elden Ring money. I'm not even sure Armored Core itself can hit that high going forward, AC5 is what followed AC4. Still, if they can just do the bare minimum and keep it MW5s levels then I'll be happy enough with the product. You can't do worse than HG Assault unless you're actively trying to piss us all off.

>>96206578
>>96212989
>UE5
I just hope they don't make the mistake of taking Timmy Tencent's exclusivity bribe.

>>96213407
Oh man I forgot about that. Surely Piranha couldn't reach lower than that.
If the HG3 devs want any good motivation then outdoing PGI at their own domain is a good start. Let 1999 commence again with the mech sim wars.

>>96212984
That could be a cool setup for a dystopian mecha setting. How the machine takes more of a toll on ones mental state than previously done all to keep up with the increasingly harsh demands of war.

>>96212989
Hopefully it goes for better controls than bootleg Battletech.

>>96214549
My guess is that it will. I think even Assault was looking to move to WASD style controls. I still think they could keep the tank controls in a fun way via SMS movement when you go rollerdash mode. Heavy Gear 1/2 wouldn't let you strafe when in SMS. It was the compromise of faster forward movement over general mobility.

>>96212989
>>96206578
PLEASE BE GOOD

>>96157248

>No Nuke Bazookas
>Sad Urbanmech Noises

Also, the psychic drones are only needed in Gundam because jamming tech has become an insurmountable pain in the ass and they have to rely on laser comms and signal flares during actual combat, so the only way to make drones work was LITERALLY making them telepathically controlled.
Dr Minovsky has a lot to answer for in the Universal Century...

Battlemechs are slower, less agile, but are somewhat tougher unless you hit the head, in which case they are fucked. More advanced late era or CE gundams... actually you know what, I'm just gonna say UC only because Domon Kasshu with set the whole East on fire otherwise.
Anyway. Late era, highly agile Gundams, once they realise a single shot to the head solves the problem are going to win most of the time, as long as they don't catch an unlucky hit from an LBX20 or something.
Zoids might be interesting, but the lack of flight is probably going to see Zoids lose once we get past the OYW era and Zeta era becomes a thing.
Obviously, the Big Zam would win in a Flash.

>>96159408

Heroic Age was way better than it had any right to be. The opening especially I remember being great.

>>96206578
>trailer shows I and II before III
Ngl, my biggest hope is that they're releasing remasters/ports of I and II alongside III.
Probably naive to expect it though.

>>96215834
I'd love that as well but sadly they might not be able to do that since
>HG1s source code is based on the MW2 engine which is confirmed lost
>HG2s source code is missing, unknown if also completely lost
HG2 might be recoverable and honestly would be the game that would need it the most. Its a bitch to get running on modern systems. Just recently before this got announced I was trying to get it to run on my Steam Deck but kept running into segfault errors. If DP9 could talk to some of the programmers for Heavy Gear 2s engine they might be able to remaster it. Best HG1 could do is a directx wrapper and music packaged with it like they did for Interstate 76

>>96213407
I don't think Heavy Gear has enough of a pull that they'd try that

>>96214549
>>96214589
Only HG1 really had bootleg battletech controls, 2's were their own brand of weird.

>>96216090
Even if the source code was found Activision would need to agree to release it

>>96216189
>Even if the source code was found Activision would need to agree to release it
Fuck, that is a potential roadblock. But then again was DP9 able to wrestle the vidya IP back for all the games right? Cause if so then they might be lenient in also giving the HG2 source code at least. The only other game that ran on the same engine was Interstate '82. So no legal fuckery from the MechWarrior IP side of things.

>>96216090
How do you lose the source code? The game is on your computer

>>96149915
It's a fantasy setting, why even make it so they're not just better tools of war? You've kneecapped the fantasy of the mecha for no real reason.

And besides that, people overestimate how much 'better' tanks are versus mecha. There are plenty of factors that would make a sufficiently advanced mecha equivalent to, if not superior to a tank depending on environment and forms of combat, not to mention how different mecha are in different settings (size, mobility, etc).

>>96216752
If Activision was anything like Interplay then they might have told the devs to burn it. Otherwise it was just not maintained by anyone. Whats on the computer is strictly the compiled binaries. Meaning that the games can't be updated with new versions of Direct X, OpenGL. Have (refined) linux ports, widescreen, etc without the source code because it was compiled for Windows 98. One could theoretically still implement that stuff but then your asking for someone to reverse engineer the games.

>>96203816
Yeah those are definitely possible. Some of them you might be able to apply the optional upgrade rules for instance to upgrade a Gaplant.

We're still doing some under-the-hood design changes on HP and Move, once that's finalized we should be able to get some more flexibility on upgrade rules too.

Have you had a chance to try the current Gaplant or other Gryps machines? If so I definitely want to hear some feedback to hear how well they're performing

>>96212989
Yeah given DP9's luck with video games I'd hold off on the hype until the game actually comes out. IF it even comes out at all.

>>96216980
Well some good news depending on how you look at it is that Flameborn Games is directly under their thumb. So they can actually monitor the state of the game and not have the rug pulled under them like what Stompy bot did. But this is their first ever game so this could vary wildly in quality, As long as the devs are willing to be open and communicate with us as well as be consistent in its development it should turn out okay. Basically the team should pull a MechWarrior 3 and basically just rip Heavy Gear 2. I'm not expecting the quality of AC6 here but hoping for at least MW5 quality.

>>96216090
You do know some redditards made re-packs for HG 1 & 2 that actually work, right?

In a hypothetical "One Year War goes on longer then one year" scenario, who would it make more sense for to invent the Hizak? Zeon as the latest "Zaku III" or the Feddies as a solution to "what are we going to do with all these zaku parts"?

>>96217385
Tried them. Got thrown Direct X errors at me. Had a whole thread on /wsr/ to see if anybody could get the games running on linux but in the end I had to use 86Box and run a virtual machine to get the games running.

>>96217399
Maybe the Hizack could be a Zaku sidegrade. Something that took the Zaku 2 chassis and stuffed it with extras at the cost of exposing the internals. I wouldn't quite know where Zeon got these extra resources to keep the war going though.

>>96217028
None of that is good news no matter how you look at it.

>>96217662
Trust me, I have low expectations myself. But you can't do worse than how Assault turned out. It could become actual vaporware or complete shit and it would still be a step up from Assault. If DP9 is smart, then they'll be giving the game the highest priority, even over the tabletop games since their reputation is fully on the line here, they can't point fingers at a 3rd party if this goes south.

>>96216752
You've confused source code for compiled program.

>>96217662
It's good news compared to the state of the industry, where "we gave it to these rando mobile developers who want to make it a freemium title and it turns out the contract gives them exclusivity to the ip for five hundred years" feels about standard.
Frankly I had thought it was a pipedream and that they weren't gonna work with anyone anymore.

>>96216206
DP9 got the IP back because Activision gave up on it.

>>9621702
>>96217662
>>96217693
The thing about Flameborn is that unlike Stompy Bot it’s made of people who have made video games in the past and actually know what they’re doing. It’s a new company but most of the people in it are industry veterans who got pushed out in the recent rounds of layoffs. That doesn’t automatically mean the game will be good, of course, but it’ll at least be more than an amateur cash-grab mess.

>>96218282
>DP9 got the IP back because Activision gave up on it.
So do they technically have the rights to Heavy Gear 1 and 2 as well? Because if so DP9 might want to reach out to GOG and see if they could help in getting the games running on modern systems. That is if the company wants to make nostalgia bucks off of it because I'm also fine with them being abandonware.
>It’s a new company but most of the people in it are industry veterans who got pushed out in the recent rounds of layoffs.
Even if so I'm sure you can understand anons skepticism, this is a literal who company who has people that aren't "vidya famous" like Kojima or Chris Avellone. But in someways maybe thats relieving too in a weird way, no "FROM THE CREATORS OF THING YOU LIKE" marketing. We've just been down this road before, even 8 years ago with Heavy Gear itself as a vidya IP with Assault. I was hyped for MechWarrior 5, and was willing to give a chance to the Front Mission remakes. But I'm not entirely pessimistic about it either. One of my favorite recent indie titles was Overload which is Descent 4 without the IP name. I would be more than happy if Flameborn can reach that kind of polish. This will probably be my last post on the matter here since the poor anons ITT want to get back to tabletop stuff. There's a thread on /m/ about Heavy Gear 3.

Gencon! :D

>>96219412
Is there any new mecha stuff at gencon? I would especially be interested in a Gundam Assemble demo.

HGB 3.1 free on Drivethru rn

>>96221218
I assume so? I wouldn't know what all is new or not. I know I saw one game I wanted to shout but I'll have to go find it again. They have Assemble here but there aren't doing demos, just paint and take. I'll post photos of that later too.

>>96221882
>just paint and take
Did you nab a model? I would be interested in any photos you're willing to post.

>>96221940
It's tonight, and I'll post stuff yeah. Will have to wait until I get home next week to post everything though.

>>96221882
This was the game I saw. I realize looking at my photos that I didn't take one that included the actual name of the game

>>96222549
>>96222562
Curious what this one is. Very detailed models.
>>96222601
Thats a lot of d10s in the back. I wonder if bandai will have a hex terrain kit to use with the game. Might be able to get away with just using Battletech terrain.

>>96222518
the crossover aspect makes me not care about this game at all

>>96221307
Been that way for a good long while bruh, and not gonna change. They make their moolah from the minis, not rules.

>>96222562
>>96222549
Ember Obsidian Protocol is the name

>>96222726
There's no crossover they just stole the minis to cross promote the TCG
like there's no gameplay overlap

>>96222834
I meant the in-gundam crossover. it should just have been UC

>>96222861
understandable, have a nice day

>>96217385
IDK what I did wrong while trying to get HG2 to work but I ended up fucking up the video files in my PC, they all changed icons and didn't open right iirc it was a while ago, had to restore to a previous version to fix it

Recommendations of units to stick in a combat group with a drake?

>>96223939
Chatterbox Iguana?

>>96150198
What's the point if you don't get ludicrous jetpack equipped infantry firing explosive frisbees.

>>96224672
Cybrids would have likely raped them with the Warforms. Gotta take care of Prometheus first. iirc Tribes is also 1000 years forward so the Hercs weren't outdated yet.

>>96222726
>>96222861
They've already said it's going to have scenario games and you can just lock the era. If you wanna play UC, just coordinate to only use UC. There's just no convincing argument to get them to cater to multiple different gundam fanbases completely separately from each other. They're not gonna leave the AU gundam money at the door.

Is there a mecha game that tries to be a little more realistic in having a few uniform designs like a real military rather than everyone in a unique ride?

I am looking for a mecha skirmish wargame that focuses solely on mechas, ground unit not being present at all or being an optional addition at most.
Preferably up to 10 minis per player but the fewer the better.
Bonus points for bio-constructs/kaijū being a playable faction if there are any factions in the first place.
Any recommendations? I am about to test Flames of Orion soon since it seems to be checking the boxes but I want to give a few different systems a try.

>>96153418
>>96153590
Bubblegum Crisis

>>96164865
No the Mackie was the first mech. IndustrialMechs came later.

>>96226606
I mean, there's mecha that focus more on mass-production models (Heavy Gear, Battletech) but that style of mecha can still have everyone get their ace custom via varient porn (My super duper Hunter is a Spearhead version with HMGs installed). Its generally that or embracing the customization of your own OC mecha like Lancer and mostly Mekton. Going all in on 2 varients to pick from would probably kill the fun for some people. You could rain it in by sticking to 4 chassis to pick from but you'll have hell to play if your players get a hold of the rulebook with all mecha on full display.

>>96226635
The closest I can think of off the top of my head is BLKOUT. But that game seems to go for a Titanfall-ish vibe where the Infantry are like Elemental warriors on crack, so not exactly mecha only. You could also check out Steel Rift, higher model count but keeps it purely bots. Last might be Obsidian Protocol since I guess its not dead.

>>96226728
I dont mind the mechs having different weapons loadouts, that can have some internal logic like in an infantry fire team/squad/platoon there will be different weapons, so long as the machines the same
>2 varients
Well look at real world armor: Main Battle Tank, Armored Reconnaissance, Scout, Infantry Fighting Vehicle, APC, etc and varients of any of these might rock mortar, anti-air, anti-armor, etc
Some militaries particularly like combined arms at lower echelons a philosophy that can work well in a wargame
But you're not rocking a tank platoon with the M60 Paton you inherited, a T-72 you salvaged, a Challenger II you recruited, a rebuilt M113, etc

>>96226728
>>96226790
6 man squad
>#1 is squad leader packing a comms/sigint backpack
>#2 is a packing a mortar backpack
>#3 is a sniper controling drones
>#4 has shoulder pods with atgm
>#5 has a saw
>#6 is a regular trooper

>>96226790
Then something like Heavy Gear could work. You'd have to as the GM box your players into a specific faction and keep the really weird varients to the sideline otherwise you will run into the
>rocking a tank platoon with the M60 Paton you inherited, a T-72 you salvaged, a Challenger II you recruited, a rebuilt M113, etc
You're talking about. Have them as Norguard players be limited to standard Cheetahs, Jaguars, and Grizzlies. No salvaged F6-16 rocking Jerboa thrusters with an N-KIDU companion. You could also maybe doctor up Mecha Hack, since thats a system that purely has 4 chassis to pick from, then you could flavor it to be mass-production aesthetic.

>>96226770
>BLKOUT
I should have clarified I am looking for something in 6mm scale.
>Steel Rift
Looks interesting. For some reason I thought ground units make an integral part of army building in this game, perhaps I confused it with some other system.
>Obsidian Protocol
Jesus, this game seems to require a shit ton of custom gubbins and stuff.

>>96226790
Oh, another RPG you could try is the R Talsorian Votoms RPG that runs on Fuzion. That keeps the mecha down to purely what was in the show, which iirc was 8 different ATs or so.

>>96226823
yeah a votoms wargame would work, so long as they dont explode when you look at them funny

>>96226816
>6mm scale
Man I'm not sure you'll find it. Other wargames that I know of is Eisenfront at 15mm and of course Heavy Gear around 12mm. The last hope might unironically be Battletech, just keep it strictly the Battlemechs, so no Hell Horses players. Steel Rift is probably the best you can get.

>>96226850
My group tried BattleTech already but most people got filtered mercilessly by the book keeping and all the moving parts. What I want to do now is to grab fifty em4's mechas, split them among players and let them have some fun with assembling, kitbashing and painting. That's why I want to find a system that will let them have some less demanding fun with their robots.

>>96226908
You could try Alpha Strike rules. Though then you'll have the opposite problem in that it's a game with no meat and all bone.

>>96226908
battletech was originally intended to be a small skirmish game
trying to run a lot of units will bog it down
and then there is all the accounttech if you're doing a campaign with a unit going across multiple engagements, because again it wasn't intended for that

Gencon day two. Accepting requests for anything anybody wants scoped out. (Other than Assemble, I'll post that when I'm back home.)

>>96226728
What is the advantage of HMGs over a rocket pack?

>>96227592
longer range anti Infantry mainly, With a gear like a Hunter you could either spec into being secondary weapons being armor busting (LRP) or infantry murdering (HMG), then you could cover the tertiary with the short range stuff, either hand grenades, or panzerfausts and anti-personnel grenade launchers. Swapping the rocket pack with a heavy machine gun is an exclusively norf thing.

>>96226790
In that case you want Heavy Gear

>>96224506
Why that one? I love iguanas but it doesn't jump out at me as the thing to stick with a gear-strider with double it's armor

>>96229305
The Drake has a host of some really good Indirect weapons. Having him pair up with a spotter can make sure he handles threats both from afar and close up pretty well.

>>96229305
It's great EWar support for the price point.

>>96226649
>IndustrialMechs came later.
You're confidently wrong there. Industry mechs came first, neuro helmet controls were among the package of new technologies that made the Mackie the first proper Battlemech.

>>96226850
There is that Hardwar thing that Modiphius are fucking about with crowdfunding, maybe that will fit the bill? Might have too many tanks and shit.

>Mecha Customization
I'm working on polishing my Mecha Wargame and I'm having a really hard time with the customization system.

tl;dr - what are your favorite customization systems? Do they balance expression with ease of use?

In my first published verion there were just 3 chassis choices, and each had 4 hardpoints: Weapons/Locomotion/Systems/Peripherals. Each hardpoint had a specific set of options, so I could make sure that certain things couldn't be taken together and chart potential min-max routes.

I think it worked well as far as player expression, but it takes a while for a new player to parse through the entire option space and a lot of combinations don't seem particularly useful compared to more obvious gear sets. As an indie wargame, it's also a factor that making army construction more complex and time consuming increases the already steep barrier to anyone actually playing your game.

On the otherhand, I really want some amount of customization to appeal to mecha fans. I know I don't want to go full battletech, but I want some feeling of choosing parts.

I would like to strike a balance somewhere between Infinity's "Choose 1 preset variant of this profile" and Battletech's "Fill up every single slot with gear. then calculate weight and heat effects"

Thoughts?

Double checking before the thread dies. In Blitz a CGL can also be a duelist right?