Thread 96468405

The /btg/ is dead! Long live the /btg/!

"Invalidates your existing rulebooks and replaces everything you like about the game" Edition!

NEW EDITION CONFIRMED IN TESTING, RUINED GAME IMMINENT

Last Thread: >>96442171
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>>96468405 (OP)
>NEW EDITION CONFIRMED IN TESTING, RUINED GAME IMMINENT

You're being sarcastic, but...

>>96468441
I am absolutely not. New thing is always bad. Every time. Battletech doesn't need new rules. Battletech doesn't need a new edition. CGL should fuck off, or be made to fuck off by all you Americans with guns.

>>96468405 (OP)
HAHA!

Also it has the inertia of 40 years. CGL can print what it wants, we don't care.

>>96468455
Can't people just ignore the new edition? I'm sure they would get the message when nobody buys their shitty new rule book.

>>96468516
We don't even know what's in it yet. But yes, if it sucks then people don't buy it and there's an edition split or the line dies. Many such cases. Traveler comes to mind, and all the Shadowrun edition wars. More likely I think is a OSR/40K grog thing where you have most people playing the latest and a small band of holdouts sticking to what they know and love.

>>96468516
>Can't people just ignore the new edition? Has that happened with literally any game ever? A new edition comes out, the paypigs flock to it, and soon enough you either join or you never get to play another game. This same play script has shown up in EVERY OTHER GAME, so what makes you think it will be different here? Battletech is doomed. We are in a position where we either submit, or die off slowly. The only option is the one nobody has been brave enough to do until now: take the war to those who chose to have one. Loren Coleman must end. It's the only way to make Battletech safe again.

>>96468516

There's a problem in that people like new stuff. That's why CGL feels the need to keep publishing new TROs instead of focusing on minis and print-on-demand copies of old documents. Players want new stuff. But also, they don't want anything new. Yes, it's a contradiction. That's why every fandom is full of angry people.

Wait what what new edition

>>96468567
I don't want new stuff, I want more of the old stuff. If I wanted different things, I wouldn't want battletech.

>>96468587
There's rumors going around of a playtest doc with changes being looked at for a TW replacement. TW's old enough to vote in most places, so I'm okay with that part at least. Some of the proposed changes sound beyond silly, to the point that I think we're in for a whole bunch of anons making shit up for yuks along with any actual leaks.

>>96468595
Same. Battletech not having edition grind has been one of the better qualities of it. What I want is force packs with mechs they haven't put out yet. I want the force manual series to continue. I want more hinterlands style campaign books. What I don't want is my already small Battletech club to be divided about a new edition. The AS vs Classic thing is already bad enough.

>>96468646
depends what we're looking at. There's no big BMR holdout group, despite all the changes TW made from that one. It comes down to how big they're planning to go and how willing they are to walk things back if a lot of people think some of the ideas are mega-retarded. If we get, say, fixed ultra ACs or something people have been bitching about for a long time, I don't think anyone is going to be waving the flag for TW Forever.

>>96468587
Yeah they're adding the mech sex rules

>>96468595
You've encapsulated it perfectly. "More of the old stuff" is actually new stuff. You just want new stuff that is somehow magically the exact same as the old stuff.

>>96468587
They've been working on a replacement for TW, which would shake up tournaments for the few who care since the "standard" for those is "whatever is in TW".
I think protomechs and WiGEs don't really deserve to be in the core book, personally.

>>96468676
>CBT + FATAL
Perfect

>>96468587
CGL is doing playtesting for a new edition of Battletech that is going to include a bunch of foundational changes to the game. Not just gear tweaks, but core things. There was a partial leak in the Megamek discord this morning, and a few people have seen agent internal documents, but mostly nobody is sure what's happening or how far CGL is willing to go to permanently ruin the game. And nobody has a full copy of the proposed rules. Between the various leaks, I've seen independent confirmation of
>init changes that penalize you for outnumbering the enemy
>mechs no longer falling when losing a leg
>ammo no longer exploding
>simplification of BV calcs, terrain modifiers, to hit modifiers, weapons and equipment
>physical attacks don't work the same
>ECM no longer shuts down C3
>removal of some equipment like mechanical jump boosters
>simplification and even removal of multiple damage clusters
>simplification and removal of hit location tables
>basically anything that can 1 shot kill a mech is gone except for head capping
>combat vehicle cards become mandatory
>invalidation of existing TROs and record sheets
>maximum game size is capped at 12 mechs per side
>maximum turn length is 10 turns
>general intent of making the game faster to play and more suitable for BV balanced competition play, campaign play is no longer supported.

>>96468671
The real crux of it is "are they going to invalidate record sheets". That's been the key throughline from the start. They can fuck with tournament legality, they can change cover rules, they can go to BV 3.0, but the moment they say that the LCT-1V now has a small cockpit and they spent the extra half ton on more armor, the game is fucked.

>>96468724
Yeah, they won't even fix record sheets that they broke with rules changes. Record sheets are eternal even when it doesn't make any sense. If they actually change record sheets, that's the real shark jumping moment.

It could also be that they're separating a new rule system. Again. We already have like four or five of them, who cares if there's yet another. We can have Classic Battletech, New Battletech (rhymes with New Coke), Alpha Strike, Battleforce, and Destiny. Bring back Battletroops and the Solaris ruleset while we're at it.

>>96468724
I refuse to believe they're doing mass record sheet changes. They've been so autistic about that right up until now that there's no point to suddenly saying "actually we're changing them all". I don't care what guaranteed confirmed for real my uncle from Nintendo changes people post here. Until I see something confirmed, I aint buying it.

>>96468751
Also how would that mesh with the massive "put every single record sheet on MUL" project they've got going on? Even if they did do new record sheets, you know they wouldn't be able to roll it out in any reasonable time-frame. They'd be lucky to get nu3025, nu3050, and nu3150 out with the most basic widespread popular mechs. They'd be converting record sheets for decades.

>>96468750
This. The overwhelming strength of BT is that it scales to your autism. The challenge is in onboarding people at the appropriate level where they can get comfortable, know what to ignore, but also where the next step is if they want to escalate.

>>96468774
Yeah, they spent like what two decades trying to get a unit creator for the shit they have now? I can't believe they just whipped up a whole new set of software for brand new rules while no one was looking with their legendary tech competence.

>>96468797
It's also a matter of actually publishing the things. Even going all-in on a downloads page and just giving them out for free, I can't see them doing it competently. Imagine a new player buying a forcepack and then only being able to get a record sheet for one of the mechs in it because the rest aren't golden boy priority conversions.
And selling them? This is the company that had a five year lag between TRO 3150 and RS 3150. They'd publish a ruleset and then have less than two dozen total record sheets for it for the entire rest of the fiscal year.

>>96468405 (OP)
FASA's great, never bothered with chasing down anything Battletech published after 1996.

>>96468676
my FWL wife.....

>>96468547
>or the line dies.
OH NO
anyway

>>96468676
My time to shine is here. Dick guns and gun boobs are finally relevant.

>>96468547
>if it sucks
What do you mean "if"? It's new. Therefore it's bad and will suck. You know that's how it works.

I'm having some fun at the moment clan LARPing for a gamedev project.
>Premise: What would you do if you had to reindustrialize from the ground up, with pre-existing models of a thing to use as reference? What would you preserve? What would you throw away? What would you improve?

What's a cool dropship that isn't the union?

Shadow of Kerensky reveals the player character's father to have been Clan Diamond Shark.

>>96468646
I don't know why there should be a split between AS and Classic to begin with. AS is quick and streamlined because it's the game you play if you want to throw a whole combined arms cluster on the table. I mean you should be taking a company or trinary at minimum when playing AS, it should never be replacing Classic BT.

>>96469004
You're right. Once we demote it back to the back of Strategic Operations and quit making box sets about it, everything will be right in the world again.

>>96468717
You're just making shit up for people to get mad about now.

Why are you guys even discussing about a 'leak' with source: my ass
>m... my father works as CGL

>>96468975
>>Premise: What would you do if you had to reindustrialize from the ground up, with pre-existing models of a thing to use as reference? What would you preserve? What would you throw away? What would you improve?
You mean as a Clan or what?

>>96469066
Not necessarily as a clan. The idea is more generalized. You end up having to rebuilt something from scratch. You have examples to base things off of. So by clan LARPing I more meant post-exodus-into-the-creation-of-omnimechs LARPing.

>>96468996
The whole Clan? Did they all jackoff into a single test tube or something?

>>96468976
Union C

Cool for what? I think the Avenger is cool.

>>96469108
One day, he'd be all Clans at the same time. Clan Quantum.

>>96469122
idk, something novel to ferry your mechs from A to B

>>96469164
Leopard, union, fortress, or overlord are your options for the majority of the timeline. All the cool dropships are assaults or conventional carriers.

>>96469164
Novel, eh?

The Hamilcar carries 8 Mechs and 4 ASFs (and you can easily convert those to more Mech bays) as well as a sizeable arsenal and is apparently meant for ferrying Mechs to the outside of space stations and space ships, which is cool.

The Confederate is a spherical Leopard that's been out of production for a few centuries.

>>96468717
>>physical attacks don't work the same

Those need to be changed though. If you're spending tonnage on a hatchet/sword, it should be better than just a simple default kick.

i'm not certain what would be better for physical weapons, but at the very least i'd make them use the punch table.

>>96469247
There are optional rules already that do that; though they could stand to be made standard and tweaked a little.

No I'm not saying this because I have a design for a Cicada with a Pilebunker in the LT. I mean I do, but that's not the reason why.

>>96468717
>>removal of some equipment like mechanical jump boosters

I think we should go back to just introtech, ER lasers, ERPPCs, GRs, UACs, LB-X, XL engines, ES, FF, and ECM.

We can call it "level 2".

Introtech can be "level 1".

Everything else can be "level 3". We'll make a special book full of weird equipment and optional rules.

The Battlemech is the king of warfare. It thrashes conventional vehicles and infantry like they are made of so much tissue paper. Even dogshit pilots forced to pilot bug mechs wade through these units without fear of harm. All this being true, why did they even bother stating tanks and infantry?

I want to like the quickdraw, but none of the variants have a real punch to them. It's all missiles and medium lasers. Which aren't bad, but even a single large laser would go such a long way

I hate these bots just posting the same bait every thread, and I hate you retards that will bite. At least pretending there's a new edition of Battletech in development is a somewhat novel execution of the same old shitty bait (It's literally one guy making things up and then replying to himself 'confirming' it, with no actual proof being posted.)

>>96468976
The fortress, seeker, triumph, and nagumo.

Whats the Kuritan dropper they built to haul BA with?

>>96469333
You know what weighs 5 tons? A large laser.
You know what else weighs 5 tons? 5 Jump Jets for a 60 ton mech.
Ditch the Quickdraw, look at the KTO-20/KTO-C

>>96469358
The Hiryo fits that description

>>96469330
You posted a book where some militia dudes with shit hovercraft beat a Locust into submission and stole it.

When it comes to getting shot at with mech scale weapons, what's more durable; a squad of 5 battle armor or a platoon of regular infantry?

>>96469426
Don't take the bait, but didn't he fight two wasps in that scene as well?

>>96469432
Infantry halves most types of damage iirc

>>96469426
No. They pointed an inferno at the Locust and the slave pilot's ptsd rendered it combat ineffective. It was the Stingers they beat the piss out off.

>>96469436
I don't remember. I haven't read it since it first came out.

>>96469081
>You end up having to rebuilt something from scratch. You have examples to base things off of. So by clan LARPing I more meant post-exodus-into-the-creation-of-omnimechs LARPing.
That's still as clear as mud, are we just picking any starting point?

>>96469359
That does look nice. The 'flank half' of this lance is supposed to have either an onmi-firestarter or starslayer too do jets would be nice to have, but it's no deal breaker. And look at that stride

>>96469432
A BA suit takes 10 dmg from a ppc. An infantry platoon takes either 1 or 2 points of dmg I forget. Infantry takes double damage in open hexes. Half in woods. If you are in a building math happens and the type of building matters. This is before getting into armnor kits and blakist electional surgery.

>>96469432
Depends on what mech scale weapon they're being shot with. BA tend to generate a higher TMM, so that skews things as well

>>96468595
I mean, I really wouldn't mind if some of the rougher parts of the game system were smoothed out a bit just to make the game better. One idea I hear a lot is to change to a 2d10 system instead, which I like just because you can get some more granularity to to-hit modifiers and what not.

>>96468682
If you can't make more stuff without it being new stuff, then I don't want it.

Did anything come of cgl acquiring iwm?

>>96469499
Price of all the models was immediately raised between $2 for lights and $7 for assaults, but otherwise nothing noteworthy.

>>96469499
Thay are still dealing with the acquisition of Harmony-Gold.

Is it worth having a mech that has a couple flamers on it?

on a trooper or striker?

>>96469343
Your post is going to age badly. Put on a trip so we can point and laugh at you once it's confirmed to be happening.

>>96469514
I did notice that a katana was more than $20. I haven't been there in a while but it seemed more than what it used to be

>>96469566
Whether a flamer will be useful depends on a lot of variables.

>>96469470
They also don't get hurt much by the standard anti-infantry stuff. You'd think a flamer would be scary for BA since they die to infernos so easily, but it's not. Machine guns too.

Wait, Freeborn+Labourer/Technician caste can have a last name?

>>96469605
if it's on a mech you can count on getting close when the fighting is thick, ie a striker or a trooper, then it seems to me like adding 2~ heat to the enemy would usually incur a -1 mp or +1 shooting? I feel like if I was able to apply -1 mp twice in a row it would give me a noticable advantage to maneuvering. just not sure that's realistic?

>>96469787
You can also count on that mech eating rounds from every enemy mech on the map as it closes the distance. I guess you could say that if nothing else it's a distraction.

>>96469764
Not officially, but they know the IS uses them so they'd have given him one even with their blistering incompetence at spycraft. Easier to just slap it on his file than have to add a footnote every time they mention his name.

>>96469764
>Labourer/Technician
Kind of explains why he fought against the King Crab in the others out in the open instead of jumping the fuck into the buildings behind and used it for his advantage

>>96469764
I'm more confused about Laborer/Technician. A Mech Armament Specialist is 100% Technician. Unless the mission was so small that they had to double up on jobs and broke the rules super hard to do it, nobody should be dual-caste like that. Even if he was an ex-laborer who somehow retested into Technician, he'd just be Technician.

>Clan scientist: "That hot as fuck labourer down there has the best gene match with me; we have to mate and have lots and lots of offsprings. Trust me it is science"
wonder how often this shits happen

Was a caste system really the best nick could come up with? I feel like historically it's shown they're not really great

Since this thread propped up before my reply in the previous, will do the reply chain here:

>Dropships can be bought, stolen, captured, or possibly given as payment or used as an investment (I give you a dropship, you give me X% profits and/or do some number of missions that I negotiate to better my own standing).
>Jumpships are basically out of reach. Your employer may pay your way to get on-location, but most of the time you're just booking trips on jumpships that are already heading the way you want to go or paying extra to get one to go out of their way for you. It's possible to partner with an independent jumpship so they'll carry you around, but you won't own it and they'll be a pretty impactful business partner since they could just ditch you and you'll have no recourse.

In that case, then how do pirates raid inhabited planets given that unlike most works of fiction, they don't own their own ships here? I mean, did the Oberon Confederation operate their own JumpShips to be used by the pirates that made raids against Trell I per Decision at Thunder Rift?

>>96468774
The only way I can see it meshing is that they've been sitting on an almost complete rulebook all this time and they've been building the new MUL and the record sheets together. But with one of the two guys doing it dying and the other losing his rig in a natural disaster it's unlikely it'll ever come out soon

>>96469828
you are trying to use logic in a setting where it is now canonical that Sex Slave is just another caste like technician.

>>96469869
Some jumpships are okay with facilitating piracy. From their point of view, a dropship they are working with went down to the planet and then came back. Maybe the planetary authorities are mad. Would they be less mad if the dropship was full of raiding mercenaries? Probably not.
Also the pirates might just own the jumpships outright. The Oberon Confederation presents itself as a government. It has governmental resources. The belt pirates of Star's End even had a shipyard capable of making new (rickety, creaky, primarily made of recycled parts) jumpships and they let anyone use it for the right price. Even the Lyrans and Dracs occasionally stopped by for repairs when they were in the area.
But your random merc company who just started by gathering some loose mechwarriors and registering an LLC do not have governmental resources and are not getting a jumpship anytime soon.

>>96469864
The ancients weren't idiots. Caste systems stifle innovation and are susceptible to leadership-induced problems, but they were very good at keeping the necessities of life moving in a situation where there was little room for waste. There's a reason why caste or feudal systems are the go-to civilizational model in apocalyptic situations. The Clan worlds were barely habitable, and industrialized production and agriculture takes a lot of work to set up. Going "I'm the guy with the 'Mech, and you can't shoot for shit, so plow the fucking field" gets you to that point a lot faster than trying to set up a market economy for an economy that doesn't exist.

That being said, the fact that they haven't transitioned out of it by now is a sign of their abject moral failings, glass Strana Mechty.

>Dobrev
Oh boy

>>96469862

Like a Clan Scientist would ever be caught committing the bestiality that is fucking a Laborer. Fuckers are basically snobbier than Warriors.

>>96469514
That doesn't even my sense.

>>96469920
>From their point of view, a dropship they are working with went down to the planet and then came back. Maybe the planetary authorities are mad. Would they be less mad if the dropship was full of raiding mercenaries? Probably not.
This. A lot of MRB/MRBC-covered work is essentially the same thing as piracy: go down, smash shit up, take loot, and run. As long as you stay on your Dropship and don't have a jolly roger painted on the hull, what's the difference? Where piracy really gets into Big Problem territory is when the pirates start turning into Fallout 3 raiders and they should really start being careful about their choice in transport. Tortuga is the one that's really infamous for hosting those kinds of pirates, hence Fronc's stance on the matter.

>>96468717
>>mechs no longer falling when losing a leg
I'm actually ok with this one if there's piloting checks involved. It's a fun way to show off your MechWarrior's piloting skills.
>physical attacks don't work the same
Also ok with this, melee needed some tweaking and support.

everything else sounds retarded though

>>96469802
I said one or two flamers. Like on a mech that you'd reasonably expect to get a kick off with at least once or twice in a game.

don't be a peenor

first company's worth of Capellans painted up.

>>96468717
>ECM no longer shuts down C3
What kind of absolute retardation is this? This is so fucking stupid it has to be a troll.

>>96469920
>>96469993

Then how did Clan Smoke Jaguar remnants end up in Astrokazy in the 3060s, which was far from where the Clan Invasion in 3049 started and that Smoke Jaguars like them were marked for death by the Inner Sphere powers in 3059? Surely there would have been hurdles for them to find DropShips and JumpShips willing to take them anywhere to hide since Clanners avoid money.

>>96470104
Clanners own clantech equipment. Most people in the IS like having clantech. Also unless those Jags are literally 100% warriors, they may have had clan ships with clan crews.
Your shitty mercenaries are not clanners carrying extremely valuable clantech from a clan where all the ships are just as beholden to the warriors as all the other assets.

A dropship costs about as much as a lance of assault mechs, and there are so many that you can find them used and abused at a discount. The crews are also not hyper specialized and you can find qualified crews pretty much anywhere.
Jumpships cost hundreds of millions of C-bills at least and their crews are extremely specialized. You can luck into a dropship. You're not going to luck into a jumpship unless you're a novel protagonist.

After putting it off forever, I finally started playing HBS BattleTech these past couple of days and man, is it actually p gud. Just got outta light mech jail and took over Panzyr for the restoration, fun times.
Also Kamea can get it

>>96470153
Better than the actual reward you get for finishing the campaign.

>>96468717
Most of this sounds far too stupid to be real.

>>96470166
Have you ever been disappointed by expecting a game company to fuck up?

>>96469983
>Like a Clan Scientist would ever be caught committing the bestiality that is fucking a Laborer.
BUT YOU JUST KNOW!

>>96470157
..You're telling me it doesn't end with the commander impregnating Kamea and ruling the Aurigan Coalition together?

>>96470137
That's cool anon. Adding one more jumpships to my Mercs now

>>96470210
>he wants his guys to be novel protagonists
Look at this galoomba.

>>96470218
Yeah, yourdudes shouldn't even get mechs. What do you think you are, some kind of hero? You'll get a rusty van and one smr and you have to roleplay being crushed by one of the mechs that looks really stupid, and that's all.

>>96470207
Unfortunately not. You just get a fancy Mech an Atlas II which is probably outperformed by most of your other Mechs by that point anyway.

>>96468717
This sounds retarded, but it is cgl. So a 40% chance of being real.

>>96470221
Man, I don't even know how I'd spend 300,000,000 C-bills on mechs. I'd run out of clan assaults to buy pretty quickly.

>>96470235
That's a company of Hellstars.

>>96470207
>>96470222
Sourcebook says that Darius was running the company within a few months of the end of the campaign, so the PC's fate is left open.

>>96470245
Or one of the cheapest jumpships that exists.

>>96470235
Perhaps I could interest you in a loan to purchase a pair of these?

>>96470221
Unironically sounds cool as fuck. Everyone should play a short campaign as a small group with shitbox CVs, conventionals, and some infantry at least once to experience how bad pirate raids are for the average person in BT.

>>96470218
I might be a galoomba, but this galoomba now has two shiny new jumpships ready to deploy

>>96470361
Double galoomba.

>>96470396
Gonna go buy a third so I can complete the galoomba triumvirate

>>96470429
I'll buy a few stars of clan assault mechs instead of one of those. Then I'll use my massive leftover money to charter a jumpship that someone else will have to pay to maintain and we can fight.

>>96470153
Wait until your lance of mediums and lights faces off against a company of mediums and heavies in a three skull mission.

>>96470471
The Galoomba Jumpships Union thanks you for your patronage

>>96469909
Show the novel excerpt showing a sex slave caste. The ramblings of a deranged author on social media aren't canon, and neither is the fucking pride anthology that explicitly says "fan work" near the title.

>>96470530
They have always preferred to be called the "Labourer Caste"

>>96468885
What mech is that? Not the commando, the other one. I feel like I should know it and for the life of me I can't remember

Never understood why people try to make excuses for the short range of the combat. Short ranges are what allow mechs to be viable weapons. Being a tall target is a bad thing since while you can now see everyone, everyone can now see you too. It’s the reason why real snipers don’t go to the top of high towers to stick their gun out of (unless they’re shooting civilians like Charles Whitman). The advantages of being able to see 100 targets and shoot at one of them are outweighed by the disadvantages of 100 enemies being able to see AND shoot at you.

For obvious reasons this disadvantage mostly goes away when the ranges are forced into a short enough range that this can no longer happen.

Battlemechs have always had an advantage over convees through their ability to dodge incoming shots, but unless you want the setting to straight up turn into Armored Core with the mechs weaving through bullet hell I’d suggest accepting that short ranges are good for the lore.

>>96470870
>but unless you want the setting to straight up turn into Armored Core
Yes, I only run enhanced jump jets and partial wing mecha.

>>96470604
Who gives a shit about what the slave caste prefers.

>>96470870
Snipers actually use high ground on a pretty regular basis. Most soldiers and combat vehicles do.

>>96471040
You want high ground, but not the highest ground.

>>96471135
Then don't go to the highest ground.

>>96471215
I don't want to go to the lower ground

>>96470530
The deranged author has already written several books for the setting and added racism as an entrenched thing within clan jade falcon. You need to listen when people tell you they are going to do something.

And what he's said is that he intends for the clans to practice sexual slavery as a means of business. And that this is somehow both positive and wholesome.

>>96471040
It's over Amaris, I have the high ground.

>>96471405
You underestimate my Matar.

>>96471278
If it's not published then I don't care. You have nothing but speculation and deranged raving. Fuck off. I accept your concession. There is no "sex slave caste".

>>96468405 (OP)
Is Battletech Gothic still happening or did I hallucinate all that?

I want to get into BT. I play a lot of /awg/ and /hwg/. My only prerequisites
>I need mixed arms, infantry, tanks
>I prefer the houses to the clans
>I like to paint

Where should I start? I think Alpha Strike is more my speed but I'm just not as into the Clans. I really like Davion and Liao

>>96469983
Plenty of Americans have sex with nonwhites.

>>96471507
AS is faster and simplified, but because of that also lacks the true BT feel. It lets you easily wield multiple lances and not have the game last an entire weekend, but you lose a lot of the detail with hit locations, heat management, and range bracketing.

>>96471541
Yeah plus I'm into the earlier lore and that one is full of clan mechs. It's interesting how the game doesn't have a huge buy in, I have to check myself realising I could have a great game with just two boxes. But I definutely want some tanks. It just works way better with support in my mind

>>96471559
You could also check out iron wind metals for vehicles, they make a load of different battletech tanks, apcs, aircraft and artillery pieces. Although they do end up more expensive then the Catalyst stuff.

>>96471507
The lore is not tied specifically to one system or the other, the choice of system should be yours and only because you like it more to play. See if you can't find people at your LFGS to give you an introductory game of each and see how it goes. Also there's nothing stopping you from playing only tanks and infantry if you really want to but you'll be expected to learn Total Warfare thoroughly.

Buddy finished painting my original quadmech design.
He's really using his Lit paint a lot. The jets are painted with it and they just glow in any kind of light, it's really cool.

Why are there enforcer and jagermech IIIs but not IIs? Is it like a reverse valve situation where the davions can count to 1 and 3 but not 2?

CGL is testing a new edition of the game

>side torsos have been removed
>leg destruction doesn't cause a mech to fall
>ammo explosions now only deal 1 damage
>mechs always fall one way
>pilot die becoming standard
>c3 getting buffed, now it lets you ignore the target's TMM if the spotter has LOS
>new edition will launch with a dark age themed box to replace AGOAC. has six industrialmechs and two dark age battlemechs
>Cluster table getting replaced with rolling a D6 for each missile, and on a 3 that missile hits.

>>96472013
>>Cluster table getting replaced with rolling a D6 for each missile, and on a 3 that missile hits.
But what about LBX Cluster and Rotary shots?

>>96472068
Roll A d6 for each LBX pellet or RAC shot and on a 3+ it hits.

>>96472112
So for an LBX 20 or LRM 20, you need to roll 20 dice?

>>96472139
Yes. It's because Rem has signed a deal to do marketing for Chessex as well as CGL, so she's pushing for rules that require players to use more dice at once.

>>96472148
They do realize this is stupid as fuck, right?

>>96472013
>just got into battletech
>and then they pull this shit
wherever i go i just cant get away from the modern casual/competitive scene man
its agony to see the effect of execs having a situational awareness of a fucking sloth and suffer that last years

>>96472210
I doubt this shit is going to pass; On top of everything that's been said about fucking up the entire existing product line, they've somehow made die rolling even MORE tedious.
Plus aren't these the Model Sniffers rules?

>>96472158
>>96472210
>>96472249
Some more info from the playtest

>Force organization charts being introduced. Standard play will require one mech for each non mech unit. Protomechs count as mechs, so you can run a pure protomech force
>Clan ERPPCs, Gauss Rifles, and AC20s are all being nerfed to 11 damage maximum, so that headshots don't instant kill the target.
>Blazers and Hyper Lasers are now the only weapon that can headcap, but they use the MASC table to check whether they explode, increasing chances each turn
>Tex is writing the lore for the next era after ilClan
>Initiative is being replaced with an Order Die system inspired by Bolt Action, where you and your opponent have dice in a bag and draw them to see who activates their unit first. Like the cluster table change, this is designed to push dice sales.
>A new edition for Alpha Strike is the next project after this. They showed off "something big" and it was a CGL mini on a clickytech style base, so I think Alpha Strike is going to get replaced by a revival of the MWDA system. Someone speculated that the game name would be "Mechwarrior: Wolverine Imperium"
>Kicks now have a +2 to hit instead of -2, "fixing a forty year old typo"

>>96471772
Looks weird with those vestigial arms

>>96472288
I see, you are a lying troll.

>>96472288
You had me going

>>96472305
>>96472385
What was it that really gave it away?

>>96471511
American racists wish they were as discriminatory as high-caste Clanners.

>>96472296
That's what I was going for.

>>96469064
What mech unit uses the blue/yellow color scheme?

>>96472392
>What was it that really gave it away?
For me, it was Tex being involved with this shit.
Love him or hate him, the guy does not stop droning about how Game Companies should focus on good games, not selling shit.

That and Capping an AC 20 to only 11 points of damage, just remove the damn thing at that point.

>>96472528
Thanks, I'll remember to be a bit less blatant next time.

>>96472539
How about no.

New playtest rules just dropped:

>Roll D30 for all attacks, 1-7 you hit (1-9 if they jump)
>Instead of 200 shots at 2 damage per shot, machine guns deal 200 damage but only have 2 shots
>Once per game you can throw a brick at your opponent's face, twice if you buy official CGL bricks

>>96472528
What? Are you saying you wouldn't be interested in all the extra tonnage, the less ammo, and worse range to get 1 more point of damage? I for one welcome our new AC11 overlords and if you believe that I've got a bridge to sell you. It'll support any mech you need to cross it with.

>>96472440
The Big MAC, I guess?

>>96472559
>>Instead of 200 shots at 2 damage per shot, machine guns deal 200 damage but only have 2 shots
I for one Welcome our AC/200 Overlords!

>>96468405 (OP)
Anyone got that strip where a guy in front of a CGL podium is talking about how hard he works to drive the brand into the ground,

>>96472619
Never mind, I'm retarded, need to refresh more often, was posted. Bless that anonymous shadowrun shitposter for his creation.

>>96469828
Two castes + two names = two guys?

Bear with me here. Let's say that six Clans (Jade Falcon, Blood Spirit, Smoke Jaguar, Ice Hellion, Steel Viper and Fire Mandrill) are each asked to provide a warrior for a Trial of Position. Everyone has a vested interest in making sure that the surat attempting to beat all six has not a chance in hell - what kind of 'Mechs are they contributing to make sure of it?

The era is 3015. Tentatively I assume that Jade Falcon would send a solahma pilot in a Bane, Blood Spirit would send someone in a Blood Kite, but I'm not familiar enough with the non-Omni 'Mechs the Clans make use of.

>>96472013
Proof?
Exactly.

>>96468516
Battletech is a game where people absolutely will ignore a new edition. However maybe a new edition will be good?

>>96472852
There is no new edition.

>>96472852
Unless its the mech-sex update i'm not interested.

>>96469164
If it's just ferrying between garrisons and not doing combat drops, you can put them in any ship which carries cargo

Spec your own, the 20 or 30 known types aren't the only ones to exist

I tried to make a shadow of kerensky thread at /v/ to discuss the game, but the catalog is infested with silksong threads.

>>96469175
Hide a leopard or three inside a wrecked overlord

>>96468975
>What would you preserve? What would you throw away? What would you improve?
vegemite

>>96472897
It’s been seven years of “Never Ever”, I *would* say just let them have the day but realistically we’ll be seeing Silksong threads for weeks at least.

>>96471772
now I'm not a mech entomologist, but I think that's the only bug mech to actually have 6 limbs

>>96471507
AGOAC box and Mercenaries box. Given your combined arms preference you'll want Total Warfare as well. You could skip the Mercenaries box and just pick up some of the convee boxes instead. Infantry is 6mm and you need to source elsewhere.

>>96467519
>GDL wasn't the archetypal startup
>ELH lucked into their ships

What

>>96469869
Did you forget where merc regiments and pirate battalions COME from

>>96472013
>pilot die becoming standard

>>96472288
>Force organization charts being introduced. Standard play will require one mech for each non mech unit.
I know you’re faking it, but this would be a legitimately great thing to add to the game.

>>96471507
Get the "A game of armored combat" box
Play a game or two with the minis/standees
If you enjoy it buy more
For combined arms I would recommend either using a 3D printer or buying stuff from IWM
Pirate the rules for now

You can make cool mini dioramas with infantry and add a lot of cool details
I have more combined arms than mechs and the game is quite fun

>>96473125
I don't even know what force organization charts would do in an average game unless they add some benefit to having a designated lance leader even if that leader has no special equipment or SPA. Maybe it would stop people from fielding 3 or 5 mechs and calling it a lance, but that's not friendly to the casual audience at all since they're the ones who ignore this kind of thing.

>>96473264
For a tournament setting, making players organize a Company and then play with lances would allow for list switching between games without being a complete free for all.

>>96473103
I do not know what a pilot die does, somebody please explain it to me

>>96473264
It would prevent people from just spamming convees or ASF’s and cheesing their way to victory

>>96473344
If they do the "must have one mech per other thing" thing, but force orgs just means having listed chains of command and coherent units. Lances into Companies into Battalions. Vehicle lances already exist.

>>96473322
It's a system where you don't roll 2 dice for every weapon, instead you roll one main die - the pilot die - and then one extra die for every weapon.
It gives less randomized to-hit numbers.

>>96473488
That sounds a lot more swingy. If your fixed die is shit, then you miss with everything, if it's great then you hit with everything.

>>96473458
Well they should do the only one other vehicle allowed per mech thing

>>96473501
Indeed, proponents of the system say it's worth it for the fact it speeds up the game.
It seems to be a trend lately.

>>96473501
You've identified why it's unpopular

>>96473488
That sounds extremely gay, you don’t even cut out the step of adding your to-hit rolls together (it’s just pilot die + d6 instead of 2d6) but you make your rolls into an all-or-nothing affair. Why would anybody want that?

>>96473608
Because Alpha Strike players are extremely lazy.

>>96473523
Until both players keep rolling 1s and 2s for their pilot dice. You don't even get chip damage with this system.

>>96473488
This is dumb as fuck.

A better system if you really want things to go faster would be to give each pilot a floating die they roll at the start of the combat phase that they can swap in after making a to-hit roll.

>>96473624
>Pilot die is standard
>alpha strike players are lazy
I'm gonna bust a gut if all of this speculation is just people sperging out about CGL playtesting "Alpha strike 2e: the need for more porches edition"
honestly a second edition of AS would probably make it less ASS, melee sucks absolute balls and DFA's just aren't worth risking your whole turn for. and any "simple" system that makes goomba stomping another robot "not worth the bother" has failed, regardless of its intention

So what are some changes we would actually like to see? Personally I think that melee weapons and most of the sidegrades should be given very marginal buffs. The latest and greatest tech should be at least a little bit better. Everything always being a sidegrade or downgrade sucks. Also the cluster 2 table should be changed so that a roll of 7 gives a result of 2 instead of 1.

>>96473946
either hatchet weighing 0 ton or using the punch table

>>96474147
This is Battletech, you beed to think igger: each melee weapon should have a unique hit location chart.
Optional rule: melee to-hit bonuses as a BV multiplier purchase to represent pilots particularly skilled in melee.

>>96474147
0 ton hatchet is a bad idea since there is no reason not to take one. Might as well be a new punch value.

Battletech has editions? Thought you just use those free print outs.

>>96474205
A table of special melee attacks similar to ASF special maneuvers.
Including 'nothing personel' katana only skill that hits rear torso or the double-handed DFA axe cleave.

>>96474209
It would also change record sheets and we all know that's a non-starter. The rules can change, but the record sheets never will.

>>96473946
A bunch of the cluster tables should be fixed, there's some easily googleable reworks that lay out all the "issues". (the issues being that some of the tables are better than others, which may have been intended but who knows)

The melee weapon thing I vaguely agree. I like a bunch of them flavour wise but yeah, they're just too weak. It'd be fine if they weren't quite as good as the hatchet, but as it stands most are just shit.

Part of the problem here is that kicks are always situationally better than any melee weapon. Kicks having -2 and (most) melee weapons rolling on the full chart really skew things. That the best melee weapons being equivalent to kicks in damage is just another nail in the coffin.

>>96474231
>Including 'nothing personel' katana only skill that hits rear torso

lol I'm stealing this

>>96474228
It's had I think three or four big changes. The biggest being from Battledroids to Battletech. Basically if the name of the core book changed, then a relatively substantial amount of rules have changed and so has the edition. BMR is the previous edition, TW is the current one. The errata within the same core book doesn't qualify as an edition change.

>>96474256
There were mountains of changes in Compendium and Comepndium ROW both. Go back and look at all the entries that were modified: its pretty much the entire ruleset. Then the BMR had a section at the back listing all its changes. TW had a text changelog compiled on the OF that ran for a hundred plus items. And TW now has what, 60 pages of changes from that? Some of that is errata, but tons of it is just "this works differently now".

I agree with you that big changes have been rare and I hope that stays the case, but grab the newest TW and the 80s BT Manual and you're in many ways playing a completely different game.

>>96474256
Is the TW any different from the one in the Starter set? Because I'e only been using that one

>>96474315
The starter set is the "introductory rules". It's based on TW, but without any of the optional rules or advanced technology. Lots of people play introtech exclusively even if they're playing out of the big book.

>>96474344
The main appeal of BT for me is the core gameplay so as long as that stays thevsame I should be happy with it

>>96473946
I'd like to see a few things...

The main gripe I have is that the rulebooks are written in the most scattered and convoluted manner possible.

the way the rules are divided is shit. tech level being split into is dumb and everyone always asks what year or era and then you get into a conversation that eventually veers into someone asking about named hero mechs- or someone still shows up with Society mechs or royals in 3025 or some bullshit.

The game should be split up more cleanly into rules books/packages that each add a group of tech that interacts together. As it is it there are a million things to ask for clarification about before you even do a single pickup game.

All the rules should be free and available online on a site. (See: Pathfinder 2e, etc)

Agreeing with this anon: >>96474231 but in a way that's not stupid. The vast majority of players I've met don't know about sprinting or moving dangerously, going prone, etc. Also include stuff like sidestepping, blind firing arm guns.

>>96473946
Then the rest of my changes veer into major game overhauls. Like:

>changing slots available based on tonnage

>allowing mixed movement types during one activation. so a unit can run and jump and slide into cover, or a unit can end turn while "hovering" in mid air

>unit mass should impact to hit, smaller mechs should be innately harder to hit for larger mechs

>change SHS & DHS, allow mixed heatsink types, change the way engine HS function

>change heatscale chart to be more used overall, as is, heat quickly becomes boring and all or nothing in later eras

>rebalancing a lot of equipment. (AC5, medium lasers, range brackets if a bunch of stuff, ultras, Clan tech in general)
>make the equipment creation rules available to players. create a list of prefixes and suffixes for weapons; . make another one for equipment/armour/structure, . Allow some of these to be applied to both weapons and equipment. Ex: Endosteel weapons weighing less and taking up more slots. Compact gauss rifles.

>make infantry & ASF rules less schizophrenic

What if we made a hatchet, but used endosteel so it weighs half as much?

>>96474472
Half that stuff is already in the game.

>>96474537
no it isn't

>>96474532
That would probably end up being breakable.
If we're doing wildly drastic changes, then what they should do is normalize handheld external melee weapons. Why should it even be considered part of the mech when it literally has to be held in a hand?

>>96474532
The elusive hatchet-shaped sword.

>>96468405 (OP)
>NEW EDITION CONFIRMED IN TESTING, RUINED GAME IMMINENT

Based. Fuck grognards and neckbears wanting to keep the game the same as it was 40 years ago

>>96474231
>A table of special melee attacks similar to ASF special maneuvers.
>Including 'nothing personel' katana only skill that hits rear torso or the double-handed DFA axe cleave.
TOMOHAWK~
BOOOMER~RANG!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7j6ABYCL4U

>>96471541
Play AS with Wolfnet 350 rules. They add a a bit of granularity to AS

>>96474758
Are they still primarily GW paypiggie rules?

>>96474807
Wait, my mistake. Wolfnet just made a tournament rules system.

It's the Death from Above Wargaming's Override system that adds granularity to AS

>>96474566
Yes it is. You'd know this if you weren't a casual.

>>96472822
I've come up with some tentative other ideas. Smoke Jaguar would just send in a Warhawk Prime with its four ER PPCs aiming for the head and just not take any chances; but the other three I'm really struggling with. I know Ice Hellion love their fast, small 'Mechs, but is an Ice Ferret diverging a bit too far from that? In that same vein, I assumed a Crossbow would be a suitable choice for Steel Viper, but I am fresh out of ideas for Fire Mandrill. A... Howler, maybe? I barely know anything about them beyond their kindraa system.

>>96474904
no my ideas are different and I'm not gonna elaborate because Herb wants to steal my ideas

>>96472822
>>96474926
If they're all invested in winning, they're all gonna send in top tier omnimechs.

>>96474999
Oh absolutely, trips of truth. But when it's six warriors against one freebirth in an Atlas II, not all of them would take it too seriously. I think not featuring that kind of arrogance would be to neglect an important part of the Clans as a whole. And emphasize Jade Falcon and Smoke Jaguar as the ones who don't play around - being the big boys, so to speak. Does that make sense at all or am I speaking nonsense please do say if I am.

>>96474537
>>96474566
>>96474904
>>96474976
(NtA) Look I came here for an argument.

>>96475011
You're being hysterical.

>>96475079
No you didn't.

>>96475125
Yes I did

Strange thing happened today. I was at this chick's place and one thing led to another and I'm railing her from behind, her headboard is hitting the wall, just rattling the dresser and shelves over the bed. Anyways, I'm in the middle of doing my stuff when something falls on the bed next to me. I don't see so good when I don't have my glasses on, and I take them off to fuck, so I can't really tell what it is and ignore it. Anyways, a few minutes later I finish up and I feel something dig into my back when I rolled over. Turns out this chick's ex left a bunch of metal minis at her place. I wasn't planning to see her again, but I might if there's a chance I can get a whole company for free.

>>96470484
Why wait? I just got to Liberate Smithon and am already getting filtered

The playtest is real, guys. They really are going to change the game. Can someone get a copy of the PDF and upload it so we have some concrete to bitch about

>>96475232
The playtest just flew over my house!

>>96475277
A second playtest just hit the towers.

>>96475282
You wouldn't have met my playtest, she's from Canada.

>>96475232
Just two more weeks until the Playtest, trust the plan!

>>96475185
>I wasn't planning to see her again
Why not?

Reading this document, I (shocked, I know) don't see any of the giant bullshit changes people were confirming as 100% true. These are ... fine? The reasoning seems fine? Need to test some of it, but that's what they're doing too so whatever. Some big stuff for sure, but looks like another TW-level change to me.

They don't even need to change existing record sheets or construction. Simply change weapon damage. Ballistic weapons scrub armor, energy does little armor damage but has a better chance to go internal. Look up the old fan-made set of rules called Renegade Tech that adapted the Renegade Legion rules to BT. It gave players a reason to use non-flashbulbs.

>>96475313
Turns out she had a penis.

>>96475326
Weapon damage is on the record sheets.

>>96475410
it wasn't always and can be ignored in favor of updated stats in books.
kkvn

>>96475313
A lot of red flags.
>>96475405
kek.

How is the ASF rework? Is it even there?

>>96475517
No. They've mentioned ASF repeatedly in the past so I assume it's coming, but this is just mech rules.

:( everything always changes. Can anything i have feelings for stay the same? At work people come and leave. Friends die or leave and new one get introduced. Games and fiction gets 'revisited'. Please, i beg ya just hit the snooze button just for ten years please. I just want to smell the roses is that so much to ask for?

>>96468976
DroST Transport IIa
This old bitch has been around since the beginning of the Star League.

>>96475678
My brother, BT has changed constantly in the last 10 years, and stayed the same. This is going to be fine. Go for a walk and breathe that sweet air.

>>96475739
I need to make this in Space Engineers.

>>96472933
In my mind, it actually has eight, since I put the large weapons in the torso on essentially gimbals, they can be "posed" like arms.

>>96468976
I like the Trojan. Doesn't have mech bays by default, but it shouldn't really have anything "by default" since it's a grey market refit of a usually unarmed tramp hauler.

Picked up a copy of the city and savannah map packs.

>>96475740
Constant change is such a burden, i wake up and the realizstion that another fraction of reality is no longer the same hits me like a sledge hammer.

>>96475678
No. Adapt or die. Progress is inevitable. That's why progressives are on the right side of history, because they actually acknowledge reality.

>>96475678
>>96475832
Just ignore the changes. Mind over matter.

>>96468717
Oh my God so much of this is actually real.

We're so fucked. Battletech is dead. I guess the only game left to play is 40k.

>>96472559
Oh my God so much of this is actually real.

We're so fucked. Battletech is dead. I guess the only game left to play is 40k.

>>96475109
Tut tut

I saw in the document they're gonna make it so physical attacks go after shooting. Whoever rolls lower on initiative moves first and shoots last. LRMs cluster in groups of five but SRMs have each missile hit individually. ER lasers generate more heat than their standard equivalents. Battle Armor can ride on the outside of omnimechs, but not omniASF. Water is bad news due to these newfangled breach checks. Partial cover makes it harder for enemies to hit you. There are shooting penalties if you get too much heat built up. Crazy stuff.

>>96476074
This is fucking bullshit. I'm forming a mob to torch Coleman's house---who's with me? Go ahead, I'll catch up.

>>96476089
Better hurry, they capped external heat at 15 points per turn. Ain't no one burning down nothing at that rate.

>>96476102
Those monsters, they thought of everything

>>96476074
But shooting is resolved simultaneously!

>>96476124
Crazy, innit? Shouldn't even call it Battletech anymore.

Oh so you've read all the Battletech books? Prove it. Which character originally piloted a Shootist?

>Oh my God so much of this is actually real. We're so fucked. Battletech is dead. I guess the only game left to play is 40k.

YOU tell they/them. I've got a brisket smoking on the grill.

>>96476132
Nobody has ever piloted a Shootist and if they claim otherwise they're lying.

>>96474745
>Fuck grognards and neckbears
>Anon thinks the changes will be for the better
how fucking new are you, you witless faggot

>>96476135
I hate you stupid smoker fags driving up the price of Brisket. It used to be the cheapest cut of beep, now even point cut is up there at $7-8/lb because of you people.

>>96476145
Sounds like you've never read a Battletech novel that wasn't written by Young or Stackpole.

>>96476132
Jerimiah Rose. What do I win, other than remembering I never read the second book and remembered his unit got fucked by accident in the Jihad?

>>96476190
You win the opportunity to read the 2nd book. I actually thought it would take longer for someone to get that, I think there was maybe one flashback scene in the first book, if that?

>>96472210
>wherever i go i just cant get away from the modern casual/competitive scene man
Anon, just use the old rules and whatever optional rules you and your friends want to play with. It's that easy. You don't need to buy a single new product, or even buy a single thing to play and enjoy Battletech, except perhaps a map or two and a physical copy of the rulebook for easy referencing.

>>96476199
He has the flashback to Tukayyid in the first book is how I remember, also his jumping Charger.

>>96476177
I don't read liar novels.

>>96472013
>>new edition will launch with a dark age themed box to replace AGOAC. has six industrialmechs and two dark age battlemechs
kek

>New edition will have a 40k and an MTG crossover, and a movie produced by Ryan Reynolds for release in 2026
>Their plans are to sell the company to GW in 2027

>>96476250
I would buy a proper-scaled PAF force pack.

>>96476250
If one of them is the St. Florian I'd buy two boxes.

>>96476167
Accurate. All new things are bad. This is an axiomatic truth.

>>96476306
Exactly, this is why they should remake battletech as a dougram/macross game.

>>96475516
The biggest red flag being that she was willing to fuck you.

I miss FASA.

>>96475868
>Progress is inevitable
Only retards believe this. Movement is inevitable, but just because you're moving, doesn't mean you're making progress. Case in point, The Dark Ages.

>>96473058
Ta m8

Some more leak info
>new rules state that you have to use one named pilot from the canon pilot list with SPA's
>to fund the print run for the next edition, they'll be letting kickstarters create canon pilots to be included in the list

>>96476400
I'm certainly no casanova, any woman who will have sexual relations within two hours of meeting me is best for a good time, not a long time.

>>96476554
I met a chick that was down not long after meeting at a concert, but someone has pulled me aside and said one word, and I left her.

>>96476476
That's actually why I stopped playing X-wing, I got sick of it all being named characters all the time.

>>96476476
You're not even trying anymore, man.

>>96476568
what concert?

>>96476476
Also, all pilots are now required the be trans

I was going to make a shitpost about every mech needing to pick a quirk, SPA, and regimental ability and then roll a die to apply one at random, but I don't actually remember what they called the regimental abilities/rules.

IMO the new rule that all past, current and future line devs have the right of prima nocta for all players is messed up. It doesn't even seem legal.

>>96476748
I think it's worth it if we're also getting revised LAM rules. This way we're only getting fucked once, instead of every game.

>>96476748
It's only enforceable at Gencon anyway.

>>96476748
If you agree to it by purchasing the game, that makes it legal. Terms and Conditions work that way.

>>96476748
Luckily for all of us we're neckbeard wizards, so GLHF collecting.

>>96476748
That's nothing. Perhaps the worst rule addition of this new edition that's totally happening is how every time you get a crit or an ammo explosion on an enemy, your opponent HAS to shit their pants like the MechWarrior would in their last moments.
I mean, I know BT is a narrative game but this' ridiculous!

>>96476916
I think that needs to be rewritten, Rules as Written, it almost seems like if you accidentally shit yourself, one of your mechs suffers an ammo explosion. Unless that's their intention, they need to clarify that.

>>96476937
this is just going to encourage WAACfags to slip laxatives into the food. and it will make tournaments smell even worse.

>>96476937
But it ties in so nicely with the rewrite of Phantom Mech: Before the start of the game, shit your pants. It's so thematic and mechanically consistent.

>>96468405 (OP)

If you had just 2 mercenary aerospace fighters to protect your dropship from other aerospace fighters as you go down, which would you take? Hard mode: No repeats

>>96476969
Which reminds me, I wonder if any of the alt universe things will bring in psionics/newtypes/jedi/whatever. Instead of using a neurohelmet, rip a fat line of Germanium-Melange and assume direct control while also having a psychic duel with the enemy pilot.
Before the setting was really locked down, psychic abilities were a maybe and that's why we got Phantom Mech, and it's a huge part of 60s and 70s sci-fi.

Anybody else pissed the new construction rules made the Fiat 500 illegal, but they still continue to give them to the Wolves for ilClan?

>>96477078
Do you actually give a shit about the setting i fo of one-off box sets?

>>96477098
I like the what-ifs. Obviously "what if it was 40k" is lame, but the line existing at all is an opportunity for some neat stuff.

>>96468717

It's shocking that people actually bought this bait throughout the thread, when the last few are obviously false.

>>96477073
One Eisenfaust and one Corsair. No I've never played aerotech.

What was the explanation given again for how the battlemech pilots don't like, turn to goo inside of their mechs from the movement?

>>96477108
I personally feel it's a waste of resources that could be invested into the actual universe and game, and just a cynical cashgrab to harvest money from impulsive, emotional consumers who are easily excited by novelty.

>>96477126
That they're only going like 35mph?

>>96477126
Crash couches.

>>96477078
Guaranteed the anime spinoff is gonna have newtypes or psychics or something, because anime is the only place that really kept doing it after the psychic craze faded.

>>96477126
Battlemechs are agile, but they're not like an armored core, or a gundam, that's making like 12 g turns. Like a stock MadCat, at a sprint is moving at 54mph. The Light mechs can get up to like 120mph. These are speeds our cars often turn at.

>>96477156
I have low hopes that they're going to go gonzo 80s, it will just be a samey early 2000s series.

>>96477157
Within atmosphere UC mobile suits are actually pretty tame, in the original MSG you only ever see them walking or trotting around at like 40 mph. The Victory and the Gun-EZs move pretty similar to what I expect a 6/9/6 to move around at. I really wish 'mech combat depicted in media was a bit more spirited, like on that short of the Wolverine vs the Timber wolf.

>>96477136
>I personally feel it's a waste of resources that could be invested into the actual universe and game
You want more ilClan?

>>96477368
I want the books they sell to have been professionally edited and not look like pre-release working drafts.

>>96477389
YOU ASK THE IMPOSSIBLE!

>>96477078
I thought the whole point of phantom mech is that the pilots took turns (morgan and then yorinaga) at being so zen 'no mind' that the diag DI computers on eachbothers machines glitcjed out and declares the enemy machine 'not there' because it was 'empty' and had 'no pilot' etc.

>>96476637
When i was playing xwing, it was troll lists of THAT ONE TIE PILOT and then a searm of other basic tie grunts that your guy made way, way better.

>>96477472
I never used named pilots and just drowned Rebel shits in green lasers.

>>96477464
There is no actual explanation, because the actual explanation is "psychic powers" but psychic powers were put on the no-no list very shortly after those novels, so there are only "possibilities", up to and including that maybe they had some kind of really fucked up lostech stealth device.

When BT was first being written, a lot of stuff wasn't in stone and FASA had just come off a string of Traveller content, which is a setting that does include psychic powers.

>>96477157
There's a locust that can run like 28 hexes a turn. That's doing a 180 degree turn inside of a 30 meter wide arc (single hex), at 280kph. That tight of a turn at that speed is a LOT of fucking g's. By my math, that's a hair over a 20g turn.

>>96477670
Any mech pilot needs to be strapped in securely because of all the situations that result in pilot damage. Ammo explosions are from neurohelmet feedback, but basically everything else is from being jostled super hard to the point where even if you're strapped in, you're going to go see the medical unit after combat to address all the blood pooling in your bruises.

>>96477670
Since the board game does not simulate what the real maneuver would be, you could expect the Locust would take a more gradual turn in this case. Were it in an environment where G forces would apply.

>>96477434
Let them have the possibility. Or at least the hope of.

>>96476145
Didn't Apollyon or some othet named WoB dude use that thing?

>>96477754
Hold on, do you think G forces don't happen in space?

>>96477907
Apollyon had a custom Shootist that's never been statted, but may or may not have been equipped with an experimental hyperpulse cannon.

>>96477969
Wouldn't be the first time they tried weaponizing them. Regular HPGs are described as basically being the mother of all EMPs when pointed at a ground target.

>>96477157
>stock Mad Cat
>sprint is 54 mph

More like about 65. Sprinting doubles walking MPs. Also, the humanoid shape and construction of 'Mechs means that they have different acceleration and deceleration from wheels, which could contribute to higher ground gs.

>>96478022
It's funny that the rules for mobile HPGs specifically adds that they cannot be used to target anything except another HPG even though they're treated as energy weapons mechanically and have a nasty EMP burst effect when transmitting that blinds any non-infantry unit within about a mapsheet and a half. Still, if a weaponized one is even a fraction as strong as a fixed one, it could turn any mech off with a hit. I would assume if class A hits multiple hexes and class B hits one hex, a weaponized Ground Mobile would need a direct hit.

>>96477966
There's no gravity in space, so obviously not. How can you operate a phone and not know there's no gravity in space?

>>96478097
This is a great troll post. It's plausible enough that someone could actually be this stupid, but also demands a refutation that many people cannot technically explain even though they know you're wrong.
10/10

>>96476668
Anybody who fell for any of this was an idiot

>>96472822
That's quite the odd mix of clans to be doing anything jointly.
Fire Mandrill - Howler 5.
Blood Spirits - Rifleman IIC.
Ice Hellions - Talon.
Steel Viper - Pheonix Hawk IIC 2.
Jade Falcon - Wakizashi.
Smoke Jags - Stone Rhino 7.

>>96469470
>>96469464
>>96469432
Battledroids infantry was a lot simpler. Infantry came in squads, each represented by a single counter and because infantry side arms coundnt damage mechs, each squad carried a single anti mech support weapon, either an MG, a Small Laser or an SRM launcher.

Any hit from a battlemech weapon destroyed the squad. No calculating percentages, no carefully keeping count of which platoon has how many men left, you just removed the counter. It made combat a lot quicker and easier, allowing a player to field battalions of infantry along with their mechs if they wanted.

>>96478647
What was the point of a machine gun or flamer if they couldn't do disproportionate damage to infantry?

In 3015, how many ERPPCs exist in the entire inner sphere, outside of comstar?

>>96478659
At least one.

>>96477966
I think G-forces don't happen in a tabletop board game (unless theirs rules for them.

>>96478647
Battledroids infantry were armed with either an SRM2 with 12 shots or an MG with 25 shots that damaged everything normally

>>96475232
https://www.mediafire.com/file/1lfiuucb800dwmk/AGOAC+-+Revisions+List+v12+-+Playtest.pdf/file

Having seen the playtest doc: The rule changes are actually pretty good. There's no lore stuff in it, it's purely rules, and a lot of it is just making common optional rules like backwards level changes and floating TACs standard.

>>96479212
The biggest change is how ammo explosions are calculated. Ammo explosions now do 20 damage max, 10 if you have CASE(still prevents spread) and CASE II is unchanged. There's also only one pilot hit instead of two.

Practical terms: an introtech mech still loses a side torso to an ammo explosion TAC unless it's a hundred tonner, which barely has enough. CASE on XL engines now affects individual games, not just salvage. But overall it means bringing ammo is way less of a death sentence. I think it's fine.

I don't know who to believe anymore

>>96479212
Some of the proposed changes are alright, some are changes to make things more viable. Most are just retarded

>>96479332
Which ones do you think are bad?

>>96479278
Honestly, that would be a good change. Gets rid of machine gun ammo being twice as energetic than TNT, and makes ammo-using weapons less of a disadvantage while still having a drawback. As the rules are now, you have to wonder how any non-CASE mech that isn't a pure energy boat managed to survive the succession wars when all it takes is a single hit in the ammo bin and the whole mech is vaporized without even the possibility of salvaging it.

>>96478278
Would the Jags spend a Stone Rhino on something like that? Are they not too valuable?

>niche rules for water is gone its now its just another wood hex with partial cover
>side hits are gone
>cant push the heat and fall as you shut down
I just know some playstyles get shut down hard because of this

>>96479065
>>96479212
Actually not as bad as I expected. Removing the left/right location tables wasn’t as bad as I thought, I assumed they were doing a thing where it’s either front arc or rear arc only, but it looks like if you’re in the right side, any “left x” hits just turn into “right x” instead. I can see that being very easy to pick at a slow mech’s side torso with an ammo bomb though, so in that context the ammo explosion change is probably needed. Looks like explosions will be easier to trigger, still catastrophic, but not instant death for heavier mechs.

>captcha: ayo tw

>>96477142
There are mechs that go 120 mph, and that’s with them dodging incoming shots by jumping and somersaulting and jump-jetting all over the place. And that’s with their tall-ass legs and a high cockpit.

>>96479503
The side table change is my favorite. Never made sense to me that I'd be behind and to the right of an enemy and somehow still hit its front left torso.

>>96479503
So if you get into a mechs left/right arc and kick, you're 100% hitting that leg. Some mechs are going to be a lot more vulnerable, like griffins with all their guns on one side.

>>96479553
It already works like that for kicks, they're just extending it to shooting. And rewarding maneuver with tactical advantages is good, isn't it?

>>96479065
A locust still being a 4/6 with a destroyed leg is dumb.

>>96479553
Kicks already do that, but yes, it’s easier to concentrate damage to a side torso now, even easier than concentrating damage to the CT. (side arcs will send 10/36 possible rolls to the side torso, CT still only 6/36) But it looks like this ties in to making ammo explosions less lethal. Doesn’t help if all your guns are on one side, but on the other hand, now you can more effectively torso-twist to force damage to go to your weaponless side, so that’s pretty cool.

>>96479612
>torso-twist to force damage to go to your weaponless side,
Torso twisting doesn't affect incoming fire and never has. Do you actually play?

>>96479561
It'll gimp the strat of exposing your sides in partial cover, which was dumb.

>>96479626
We are talking about the proposed rule changes, dumbfuck. Read the thread. If you win initiative and position your Griffin such that the enemy shoots into your left firing arc, then no shots can hit your right torso and your weapons will be protected. This is commonly referred to as “torso-twisting” in Mechwarrior games.

Idiot.

>>96479670
Torso twisting has a specific rules meaning in Battletech. Try playing the real game and not some computer game.

>>96479659
Chewable. Putting them in my mouth.

>>96479670
That's not torso-twisting just good positioning

So 1 round of AC/2 ammo does 20 damage, or up to 20 damage?

>>96479725
Up to 20. So if you've fired off all but one round, the one remaining round would detonate for 2 damage + 1 pilot hit.

>>96479670
>in Mechwarrior
>>>/v/

We play real games here.

>>96479670
>This is commonly referred to as “torso-twisting” in Mechwarrior games.
I'm just here to point and laugh

nearly finished with this fella, what do you guys think of the colour scheme

Not a fan of the Init rules at all. If my opponent brings 4 assaults and I bring 4 lights and 4 mediums, having to blindly move 5 of my mechs is going to negate any parity when I have to move to maximize TMMs for more than half my force and they just sit still in the safe water enjoying partial cover.

>>96479670
This, the ammo explosion and leg destruction rules makes it more like MWO, wich is not a good thing.

>>96479857
I’m guessing the meta effects of that change would be to push the value of cheap unit spam way down. Clans might get an inadvertent buff from that since being outnumbered doesn’t seem quite as bad as before.

So, with these rules, what can i be upset about? My hobby is being upset about Battletech rather than playing it, so I'd rather cut out the middle man.

>>96477157
You’re looking at upwards of 80 g’s being experienced on some battlemechs.

>>96479670
torso twisting is called torso twisting.

what you're describing is called moving.

>>96479773
too bright overall? those two colours don't really go well together. needs some definition in the greeblies.

lime green & periwinkle/10.

what're you gonna do with the base?

I like to look at my colour book when I'm in the bath.

>>96479773
the grey just makes me think it's unpainted 3D print resin

>>96468717
This sounds like the CGL kind of stupid for sure, so I believe it.

>>96480043
I've seen the docs. Most of that is wrong.

>>96480047
I've seen the docs too and most of it is right

>>96480097
I've seen the doc too and it's exactly half right and half wrong

>>96473125
>conventional forces lists being illegal
Shit taste.

I like most of the melee changes. Pretty much everything goes to -1 instead of kicks being better than everything always, clubs are a little easier to get (both the roll and the opportunity cost), quad donkey kicks aren't penalized anymore.

>>96480170
Some mechs are going to have pulse fists now, and kicks are a lot riskier.

>>96480202
DFAs are easier to hit at +2 instead of +4, but you'll also be more likely to hurt your own pilot doing so since the PSR to avoid damage from falling will be 1 higher in most cases.

>>96468717
To be completely honest, with the wording in the document, it seems more like a list of proposed changes to put into an actual play test.

>>96480283
It is literally titled "Collected Proposals"

I don't like the rules surrounding crits to legs and losing legs, seems more inconvenient rather than crippling.

>>96479949
For the base I was planning on just doing some grass and dirt. I was trying to make it a bit brighter as I have found a lot of my minis always end up being quite dark and wanted to try something different. But ill add some definition to the greeblies for sure.

>>96480202
[Spoiler]I'm still working on what Battlefists should do now. Got any ideas?[/spoiler]

>>96480202
Banshee with Pulse Fists is going to be pretty fucking scary after this. Piloting skill upgrades in general might be far more valuable with these changes; or maybe since they seem to be nerfing PSR modifiers overall and buffing most other melee attacks, maybe it ends up even less worth the BV.

>>96480335
Banshee doesn't have the battlefists quirk.

>>96480333
Honestly, on their own Battlefists is probably fine as is. Two safe half damage attacks at -2 on punch table vs 1 safe attack on the whole body table at -1 vs 1 risky attack at -1 on the leg table that causes a PSR is relatively balanced given that quirks aren't applicable by default. Maybe the stable quirk could apply to missed physical attacks as well (if it doesn't already, I don't remember the wording).

Save for Galatea VI, Outreach II, and Northwind II (the former two having hosted SLDF training ground while the latter most likely needed one to train new local recruits into the Northwind Highlanders), I assume most mercenary hiring halls don't host training grounds as a contrast to the aforementioned worlds?

>>96480496
I imagine it's pretty common for mercs who want to retire to set up as trainers on a planet they're familiar with, so i bet every hiring hall probably has at least a group of ex mercs offering training. Except Almotacen, it hasn't been running long enough

>>96480496
I don't think most of them mention having significant training facilities, no. A lot of the other mercenary worlds barely even have organized hiring halls. Herotitus has a bunch of different hiring halls since all the periphery nations around that side of rim have their own halls there. Astrokaszy doesn't have any formal hiring hall, just constant low intensity warfare and a lot of poorly treated soldiers who would like to not be there anymore.

>>96480524

I can imagine why training grounds are needed for mercenaries, though what about equipment like simulators, targets to train in shooting things, and mechs used to help MechWarriors brush up on their skills? How are those afforded by the hiring hall operators given how management of the mercenary trade had traded hands since 3052?

>>96480333
Any physical attack that hits the lega causes a PSR. Consolation prize when your hatchet doesn't hit something from the punch table.

>>96480456
>forewarning, am busy and haven't read the proposed changes.

any mech >= 60t with TSM now throws out 2x 1/6 chance to headcap at -2?

It does increase how often punches get used... As with current rules punches are just bad- unless the target has already gotten hit by a weapon in the head & your punch can kill confirm. With the current rules, punches are only viable when your target has taken a head hit & their TMM isn't too high.

>>96480673
They also rearranged the punch table, same results but it's in line with the other tables as far as left to right sides go. I'm sure that will send someone into a tizzy even though it has no mechanical effect.

>>96478278
It is a very ragtag group, yes. The idea was, what six Clans would oppose the idea of a new Clan being formed enough to demand to get involved? So there’s no cooperation, it’s just a matter of who would bid aggressively enough to be allowed participation.

>>96480456
Wait, Battlefists is a quirk, they aren’t making quirks standard are they? When I said “pulse fists” I meant “fists with a to-hit bonus”.

>>96480577
A lot of the training is more like certification. You bring your own mech or your employer sends you in with a mech and then if you pass you get a gold sticker in your file and become more employable.

>>96480673
>2x 1/6 chance to headcap at -2?
(1/6)^2 not 2*(1/6), since you need to connect with both to headcap

>>96481102
Pulse is -2

>>96481114
A single 60 ton TSM punch does headcap damage.

>>96479322
Just be mad that things are changing. That's good enough.

>>96481114
Not with TSM. A 60t mech does 12 damage with TSM active.

>>96480673
Sounds like a good thing to me. The faster units die, the quicker the game plays, and the more rounds we can get through at tournaments. I'd love to see the game play fast enough to do a lance on lance game in 30 minutes.

>>96481137
ER pulse is -1 and VSP is -3/-2/-1, so just saying “pulse” implies a to-hit bonus, not what kind of to-hit bonus.

If you’d rather I call it “ER Pulse Fists” then fine, but that just sounds more confusing.

>>96481114
I understand the math, also no.

60/10 = 6 punch damage
6x2 = 12, the amount of health a head has

you have 2 1/6 chances to headcap, which is 30.5% chance.

>>96481212
:^)

I'm honestly not against it. TSM mechs are fun. I'm just concerned about how that would impact melee weapons, as TSM+melee weapon would become much worse for any mech >60t unless melee weapons got a very significant buff as well.

>>96480332
I think that aiming for brighter overall might not be your actual goal? If everything is bright, then the mech just looks... well... brighter.

I think what you might be looking for is more contrast between the highs and lows? Which is different than overall brighter.

>>96481217
Legs are like pulse lasers.

Legs is -2.

Pulse lasers is -2.

Pulse lasers is pulsing lasers, and VSPLs and ERPLs are pulsing lasers but not pulse lasers.

hope this clarifies thing.

>>96481293
>60/10 = 6 punch damage
Now add TSM, which doubles punch (kick, most melee weapons) damage.

>>96481293
TSM+melee weapon was already worse than just TSM+punches for anything 55 tons and heavier, at least if all you care about is headcapping. Hatchets will still hit a lot harder, and swords will still be easier to hit with and hit a little harder.

>>96481168
>>96481190
>>96481293
I was wrong! Appreciate the correction

>>96481102
>Wait, Battlefists is a quirk, they aren’t making quirks standard are they?
No sign of this, but they've been working for a bit on rework Special Pilot Abilities to fit standard games, with BV modifiers and all. MCA posted the PDF a few times. I wouldn't be surprised if quirks got the same treatment.

>>96481339
did you read the next line of my post?

you're too retarded to communicate with, have butt

>>96481401
there's no reason to use a sword, like, ever. unless you're absolutely bitchmade afraid of falling over like a giant pussy. or you're hitting rear arc with enough damage to XL check (in which case, it's likely that a fist would accomplish the same thing).

as is now, on any TSM mech, having a hatchet instead of a kick is only relevant if you're hitting rear arc into engine kill. (or you're a pussy)

I like 20~55t melee mechs with TSM and I've used them to decent effect. But kicks are usually better. Melee weapons are for rear hits into engines, and cheeky shit like attacking up an elevation, or a mace/lance on a specialized mechs+pilot (SPAs).

>>96481426
>>96481102
SPAs and quirks are all getting BV adjustments, yes.

... The group local to me (that I don't play in) has been running a Hinterlands campaign and after talking to a few of them about it, they're actually just raw dogging that + vanilla SPAs.

Wild stuff.

>>96481401
cont >>96481461
so, yeah. sorry. agreeing with you.

if punches get -2 to hit, melee weapons need to get an insane buff to compensate, because they're already kinda tarded.

>>96481461
The -2 from using a sword means the +3 for a punch table attack ends up at only +1, so it's good for fishing for headshots with the No-Dachi 2KO

>>96481484
Punches are getting -1 to hit. The -2 came from combining that with the Battlefists quirk, which is another -1 to punch

>>96481442
SPAs are gay bullshit. Quirks are for campaigns.

Everybody talks about none of the games really portraying the agility of a BattleMech. So, I’m now genuinely asking - how agile are they supposed to be? I’m under the impression that they’re able to do handstands and shit, that it depends on the pilot due to the neurohelmet, and of course, the speed and mobility of the ‘Mech itself. Can they dodge and weave like a martial artist, is there room to implement those kinds of finesse-based techniques?

>>96481544
This varies by author.

>>96481544
If you're immobile, it's a -4 to be hit. Remaining in the same hex is +-0. That's your answer

Retractable blades are already pointless without the sniktbub optional rules, and making punches -1 just makes them worse. Punch-stab should be moved to core rules if these other changes go through.

>>96481501
that's false logic. any >=60t mech would have been better off just using it's fists for 1/6 without the +1. what you're saying is only relevant if the mech is exactly 55t with sword+TSM, in which case fists won't headcap, but sword would do (5+1)x2... and at that point... using kicks or a hatchet into rear arc is better. sword's _only_ purpose is "I really wanna hit a fast mover with a melee weapon but I refuse to kick (which is better)"

What if you could swing with both hands for 1.5x damage ?

>>96481602
>>96481501
Swords are the best melee option because stabbing another mech with a giant katana is rad

>>96481640
Are you stabbing or slashing?

>>96481653
Yes. Hacking too.

>>96481640
you're making me so incredibly frustrated horny angry it's unreal

I want you to say stuff like this to me before we play battletech and then I want to hate fuck afterwards

>>96481911
>>96481860
Clan Jade Falcon is merely okay

TSM shouldn't apply to kicks. It should only apply to punches and melee weapons.

>>96481960
I feel attacked by this statement.

>>96481943
it's actually based off of a picture I saw of some 40k titan model. No idea what unit it would belong to. I hate Devastators, they're a dumb no fun no gameplay turrettech mech. No real intention of ever fielding it so decided to have fun painting. :)

>>96482028
Oh i was just trying to make you horny mad and i know you like Malvina

>>96482042
Of course the faggot would identify with the outgroup.

>>96479488
They are valuable yes, but it's extremely unlikely to be activated in the first place. Think of it like an insurance policy to ensure the outcome the other anon set out.

>>96480985
Ah, had you included that in your previous post I would've been a bit more reserved when picking the latter half of the groups mechs.

>>96480546
>I don't think most of them mention having significant training facilities, no.
Fields are not hard to find.

>>96482235
That's not the same as organized training facilities with formal curriculums and shit.

>>96481293
Kitty!

>>96482244
So you want to lease a field and an office building. I forgot walls were lostech.

>>96482264
>the only difference between training at an organized facility and running around an empty field is whether there's a desk to do paperwork nearby
Uh huh.

>>96482271
That seems to be the point you are making.

>>96482280
Bro, you're the one who equates having an empty field nearby with having dedicated training facilities staffed by competent instructors with curriculums good enough to go on your resume for having graduated. If all it takes is having a fucking empty space, then there's training grounds everywhere, it's stupid to even ask. All facilities except maybe LAW island have training grounds. Some jumpships have training grounds if you don't mind trampling their hydroponics. Clear out your salvage and have yourself a training in your dropship's cargo bay.

>>96482294
>then there's training grounds everywhere, it's stupid to even ask.
Bingo. I'm glad you understand.

As for part two.
>competent instructors with curriculums good enough to go on your resume
You think any hiring hall has a lack of NCO's that have done a stint as a drill instructor or in preparing and running an OpEx? That's part and parcel of peace time military service.

>>96482322
Most hiring halls only facilitate contracts. The hiring hall staff are not in your chain of command. They aren't your dad or your babysitter.

>>96482379
Hiring halls are a place were unemployed soldiers gather looking for work. Many of those soldiers are trained by state militaries. A portion of those soldiers would have been Nco's and senior NCO's whose responsibilities include such things as training regimens to work up for deployments for the senior NCO's. For the junior NCO's it's beating the stupid out of boots and getting them to be competent at their MoS. All of these men would likely love a cadre contract. Assuming you have suitable fields, booze, and classrooms available. A craftsman does need his tools.

I like his dog.

https://youtu.be/e8J1LiSnl3Y

I like his dog.

>>96482412
Okay, but why would that be the hiring hall's problem? Hiring halls are in high traffic, high demand areas. Huge empty fields big enough for mechs to run around in don't come cheap in high-demand areas, especially if you don't want it to be pockmarked and full of trenches and holes from where the mechs fuck up the turf running back and forth and tripping over themselves. Those big name grade A top tier hiring halls are on mercenary owned worlds where the mercenary trade is a keystone of their entire economies. Most hiring halls don't need to be so comprehensive. If your troops don't fit the bill, please observe our "No Loitering" sign and remember that we sell "I went to the hiring hall and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" shirts in the gift shop.

>>96482460
>Okay, but why would that be the hiring hall's problem?
Who said it was? If that was part of the chain I missed it.
>Huge empty fields big enough for mechs to run around in don't come cheap in high-demand areas, especially if you don't want it to be pockmarked and full of trenches and holes from where the mechs fuck up the turf running back and forth and tripping over themselves.
I disagree. Planets are fucking huge there are plenty of places for large scale exercises. Now if you mean conveniently located next to the starport or capital city then no. You will be fucking off to the boonies.

As for the rest of your comment. I think I see the disconnect. You say hiring hall and mean the actual facility dealing in contracts? Be aware hiring hall is also shorthand for any world that mercenaries can be procured. I.E. Galatea is a hiring hall.

>>96482516
>Be aware hiring hall is also shorthand for any world that mercenaries can be procured. I.E. Galatea is a hiring hall.
Okay, well I'm talking about the actual institution that facilitates mercenary contracts. The big building with MRCB on the sign. On the mercenary worlds that institution is practically the government and has facilities for anything and everything mercenaries might need or want.
But on most worlds with organized hiring facilities, they've got admin staff and maybe a legal team. They probably have a mercenary security detail just because of how many people with mechs show up. If you want to test your potential employees, find someone else with a field to do it in, the hiring hall has a lobby and some stairs if you want to do a 10 meter footrace.

>>96482557
MRBC*

>>96482557
Ok. I am talking about stuff outside of that building. Mercs renting facilities to do their own training. Corps that service the military trade that offer facilities or access to quality training or specific schools. Scout school, sniper school what have you. I was basically yelling at clouds.

>>96479065
On one hand it won't 100% die from LT crit; on the other hand it can be 100% focus fired then?

>>96482587
Yes. It can also be 100% protected by presenting your right side.

>>96482587
Yes, presuming you let them focus fire you. You know how things work, so you can move your best to avoid it. Doesn't work so great on the chonky boys though. I don't mind giving lights some extra roles to play, since modern tech tends to hurt them, but it could all be too much. I hope people post some test games here on this stuff.

>>96482609
The frontloading of initiative is going to have some kind of impact on it for sure. Weird shit like spreading out five light mechs or vehicles to try and get at least one of them into your left arc no matter where you turn.

>>96482622
Yeah, I've seen some comments that the frontloading shuts down the tactics side, but it only ends the ones we have now: new ones like what your saying are already being talked about. Its gonna make outnumbered people naturally more cautious in their moves because they know they're going to have to watch to avoid swarming and flanking.

not sure if that actually makes it a good idea though. Just seeing that there's going to be all sorts of new metas coming up.

>>96482622
Problem is most light mechs are mounting weapons which want to be within 3 hexes, which means it will be very easy for a big guy to walk up to them and kick their leg off. You're basically guaranteed to lose a mech a turn.

>>96482660
But they can also block off all your best locations. You can't get into *any* of the wood hexes because I jumped an entire swarm into all of the ones you could have reached, plus a couple behind you. With the right setup, you're going to have to present your ass to at least a couple if you want to run up and kick one, and you'll be in worse terrain than me.

>>96482705
Although hey, they buffed charging to include the target hex when calculating damage. Ram those wooded lights all day. They're going to feel it.

>>96482720
Also, 0 hex charges. You kick me, I charge you. That's going to shake some things up, I think.

>>96482731
1 hex charge. A 0 hex charge would do 0 damage. Also a charge is declared in the movement phase, so that swam of lights you have to move can't charge, only the last few can which could also have just gone for a backstab like usual.

>>96479065
Assuming any of this is real... actually not bad changes at all. Most of it is cleaning up complicated or bad rule exceptions and rolling special cases in with their intuitive counterparts. I might be a bit fussy having to slip errata sheets into my new Total Warfare, but all of these changes seem good.

>>96482796
Yeah I'm pretty fine with most of this. Some stuff i dont give a shit about, others I'm wondering about. But its obviously got some thought into it and I've heard plenty of this stuff around here and other places for years. And the big thing: no fucking record sheet changes so far. They better not fuck that up.

>>96482796
Am demo agent. It's real. Can confirm.

Also, Pressing F for your decision to buy Totak Warfare. This is the first step towards the core book that will replace TW eventually.

>>96482796
They are new. That means they suck, and you suck for thinking they don't suck. Get out of my game.

>>96482817
Unless you're planning to completely overhaul literally every other chapter, I think me and my infantry will still have plenty to go over.

Also even if you don't want to say it aloud, please think really hard in the direction of the developers "LAMs don't have to be good but they should be playable", and not just because I want to have a laugh over my flying trashcans.

>>96482819
I hope you know that if you intend to shift me from -my- game, you're going to need more than harsh language.

>>96482865
LAMs aren't on the docket yet. The impression I've gotten is they're focusing on getting rules for mechs down and will be moving to other unit types after. That said, one guy who's organizing a lot of playtesting is a LAM enjoyer and Herb no longer has pull over the gameplay stuff, so it's entirely possible.

>>96482880
I'm going to suggest we try them out the week after next, but I already don't like the init rules. That should be optional at best. I'll probably just ignore them with my group anyways, but we'll try them once.

Honestly the current LAM rules aren't even that bad, they're just annoying because of how much they make you refer to the WiGE rules and then tells you that almost every single rule you just had to go read in a different book actually works differently. They move like WiGEs except for all these ways they move completely differently. If it was all just presented as airmech rules and not a bastardized version of something else it would be fine.

>>96482922
yeah LAMs fall into a awkward place. If you need mech rules and aero rules and wige rules and LAM-only rules, it's going to be hard to find a good home for them in the base game. But i don't think the appetite is there for a full rewrite to make them self contained. Herbs gone, but they might fall by the way anways not because someone upstairs doesn't like them but because they're too awkward to bother with.

>>96482946
Hear me out: a box set for LAMs.

In the box you get a LAM with a model for all three modes
Some infantry stands
A couple of AA convees
A light or medium mech with ACs
Rule booklet all about how LAMs and AA/special ammo work
Scenario booklet with scenarios that showcase the rules
A fiction booklet with a short story about the a 3rd Succession War LAM finally blowing out its irreplaceable conversion gear, and a short story about the crazy WoB bringing LAMs back and surprising the protagonist.

>>96483099
I mean, you've convinced me

>>96483118
Great. Now you and I just need a meeting with CGL to pitch the idea . Maybe suggest it as a KS, IDK.

LAMs should probably just go in the aerospace book. That and a simplified airstrike system could attract players who otherwise aren't interested in air/space stuff.

>>96482587
Now you know the sinister true nature of CHIRALITY!

>>96482880
>That said, one guy who's organizing a lot of playtesting is a LAM enjoyer
...So it's Not Entirely Anon?

>>96483099
No infantry stands. One ac-2 field gun platoon. One pike. A pixie lam with all three modes.

>>96483331
>No infantry stands. One ac-2 field gun platoon.
That's basically what I was thinking, some way infantry can threaten the LAM

>>96483240
There's other LAM enjoyers on the demo team.

>>96483215
>simplified airstrike system
I'm already working on this

>>96483215
I like my box set idea because it needs a LAM player to buy it, and gives all the rules in a single source the LAM player can easily carry to let his opponents reference. It puts all the effort on the LAM player and nobody else has to buy in to something they never want to play.

>>96483442
It'd be cool if there was some sort of system where a mech that has the anti air targeting quirk can try to interrupt or give a penalty to an attack run.

>>96483479
Anyone buying the aerospace book probably wants rules for all the things that go in space. That would include LAMs with ASF mode. Also consolidate the mechs in space rules.

>>96483215
>>96483442
I'd love a simplified airstrike system. In my campaigns there's usually a couple ASF to provide escorts/air superiority just in case, even though we literally never play aerospace, let alone using them as air support. If there was a good abstraction to use this in pure ground games, that'd be great. Like without having to put the model on the board or set up multiple aerospace boards, but still have the granularity of the specific units. Like just pop a chippewa on the board and have it draw a straight line across and make its attack run and then pop off the board and spent some time making a turn around, but maybe also implement interceptors and AA units without having to actually play out a full game of aerospace in parallel.

>>96483512
Both, then.

>>96483505
That is part of it, yes.

>>96479065
Most of these sound good. Removing pointless clutter is always appreciated. I especially like the changes to initiative to make it so that winning the initiative roll isn't the end all be all to the game anymore.
DFAs being more viable is great, as well as making punches as good as kicks.
Facing changes seem good. Nice and intuitive.
I like the distinction being made with legs being destroyed. In all the games I've played, we always just take the mini off the table once it loses a leg, since it's just not worth messing around with at that point for the value it gives. I also appreciate the idea of its destruction not necessarily meaning that its completely blown off, unless the coveted 12 is rolled on a crit check.
Not a fan of floating crits being the regular rule now. I liked TACs going on the CT directly. It made things more interesting.
Finally, the capping of damage for ammo explosions is interesting. It seems they really thought about the numbers here and they'll still be a lot of damage. I like how lore wise it will make mechs like the Crusader actually tough now and not just being over priced explosion bait.
Overall, I look forward to these becoming official.

famn, if /btg/ of all places is positive/at least neutral of the new rules it must be pretty decent change

>>96483815
They're better than Alpha Strike. My biggest concern is that no matter how good the changes are, it opens the floodgates to consistent updates and version changes, which I don't want. Quite frankly, I'm sick of games doing that. A game in which you learn the rules and you know the rules and that's that, is nice.

>>96483846
>>96483815

I like some of these proposed rules (very leery of the init one, and we play with high/lopsided unit counts all the time, usually a company of mechs per side with inf and vee support), but I also oppose any rule changes for the simple fact that it sets precedent for future changes to the rules. I would much prefer if these were added as optional/advanced rules, or at the very least the existing rules were preserved as optional/advanced rules.

>>96483846
We've already had lots of changes. Even within the cycle of TW being the core book, there are "errata" changes that are completely new rules or new versions of old rules. If you have a copy of BMR, the basic game is close enough to muddle through, but the minutae of individual rules is very very different from what we have now. Pretty much the only thing that never changes is what's printed on the record sheets, even when it's actively detrimental. Whatever the first version of a unit is is what it will always be even if it's broken beyond use or illegal under current rules.

>>96483846
Thing is they've been doing that for years anyways. TWs got 60 fucking pages of errata, and tons of it is "erase this rule, add this rule, rewrite this whole section." Very little of it is actual "oops we fucked up, fix this". I'm so tired of having games where a guy is 6 or 8 printings back on his TW or BMM and effectively playing a different edition, only he doesn't know it because he thinks only the cover art is maybe different.

"What do you mean you don't pay for dismounting infantry any more?"
"Oh yeah they changed that 5 years back."
"Okay, well, I need to find hex 0909 for this aero thing."
"Oh, they rewrote all that 15 years ago."

Sticking to editions as long as possible is good, but you can overdo it. There's a huge gulf between "be GW" and "run this shit into the ground".

>>96483889
I am leery of the reference to TOs. If they start chasing tournament balance then editiin grind is almost inevitable.

>>96483981
TOs?

>>96483215
Honestly that's not a bad idea. If they rewrite LAMs to be easier to use, they can use it as a bridge between mech stuff and aerospace stuff to convince more people to give the aerospace stuff a try.

There used to be a rule in Total Warfare called the Force Size Modifier where the side with less units would gain BV. That was an absolute nightmare to handle for pickup games since you had to do some math and then figure out how to spend hundreds or thousands of BV because the other guy brought five Harassers and some mechs while you just brought a lance.

>>96484032
They would have to retcon a bunch of LAM designs into the setting, which would cause deafening squealing from all the neckbeards.

>>96483815
the thing the rule changes are different, but not necessarily bad. They clear up some clutter and adjust a few things to smooth out games, and it's not outright taking anything away unless I missed something.
Mostly I'm kinda on the fence because while the game could use a tuneup and this update mostly seems benign, but I'm also wary of this encouraging CGL to do constant updating, or god forbid trying to force some kind of meta tournament balance.

>>96483889
There's a reference or two to putting cut stuff in whatever the new Tactical Ops is, so I'm assuming they're looking at backwards compatibility, even if in an optional form. I guess MM will just slap some optional flags on a few things and you'll still be able to play with them, only just checking a checkbox first. Which is good because I actually like facing after a fall even if I get why it might get cut.

>>96484040
Fuck I'd forgotten about that POS. So glad they killed it - only took what, 10 years?

>>96484057
Do they? I don't think anyone has been asking for more LAMs, just letting them be usable. It's as simple as making the original three available for most eras, and the WoB available after the Jihad.
You don't even to even retcon the factories being destroyed, just say there are some still running off artisanal parts and limited workshops for the OGs, and a couple lines for the WoB LAMs. It wouldn't be the only mech like that. Mechs like Grasshoppers, King Crabs, and Black Knights are supposed to be unicorns in 3025, but you can still field them without anyone batting an eye.

>>96484024
Possibly tournament organizers.

>>96484057
They want to focus on Ilclan, so they can just add new ones going forward. Industrialmech LAMs feel like something the Belters should have to help manage their asteroids.

>>96484107
I thought that might be it, but unless I have a different doc there's no reference to tourneys in there at all (something that made me happy, because I don't give a shit about tourneys and don't want considerations over randos at some event in a highly artificial gameplay environment determining how everyday BT is being played).

>>96484105
You far overstate the rarity of grasshoppers. They are all over the place, even in early materials.

>>96482230
It's fine, you deciding to reply at all was a massive help regardless. Thank you, anon.

I hope they go back over the refit and salvage rules and drop some of the egregiously difficult stuff back down to fit the fluff better.

>>96484500
>>96484500
>>96484500
And don't come back.

>>96483936
You forget that most of the errata in all of the rule books for Battletech include *all* the errata for every printing. It the just kept it updated with the most recent one - since almost all the errata is incorporated into new printings - they'd trim it down by at least half

>>96481461
so flat

>>96484636
I didn't forget. You need all the errata for every printing, because you never know what printing a guy's gonna have and its silly to release 11 different errata docs for 11 different printings. Every printing makes its own substantial changes. I have guys in my local group with printings back to the 1st.