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Metacampaign 2010: A Steel Battalion Scenario
Posts
That said, there's no substitute for knowing the limits of capability on your VT, specifically surrounding how fast it veers, how long it can do so before the balancers complain, in what gear they stop complaining, and how much you can get away with using your dash as a substitute for good balance. The first two are available from the VT database. The latter two are a discussion with your trainer or the QM.
Knowing the same about the enemy is even better.
In the Masters Classes, we'll cover how inferior hardware with good maneuverability can win close combat engagements by being super annoying.
LowBrow
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
The schedule included in the hand book you provided says turn 1 starts and 11 am, will there be training sessions going on before this?
We in fact open at 10, but no one will have campaign qualifications until shortly thereafter. We will be doubling up Boot Camp until there's critical mass.
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
We need a sign!
To rally the people, to call them to arms, and to bring them in line!
(Sorry I didn't have time to work on a poster... but I think it'd be hard to one-up Ben's fantastic Mao variant poster
I can't wait to tear up the battlefield!
EDIT:
I cant seem to get the image to embed at a decent size...
Seems fine to me, and I can read the important bits.
That said, you're toast Capitalist oppressor. ^^
Tipping is definitely a danger in Steel Battalion but it is greatest when you attempt to steer when moving too quickly, or performing a high speed stop. The best way to counteract those dangers is to pump the "sidestep" pedal (the far leftmost pedal) while having your steering block joystick in the desired direction you want to turn.
Close-range stuff is extremely difficult, but the payoff is very rewarding.
Edit: Forgot to add in my original intended post when I suddenly caught Solid's post and had to say something.
Are there any trainers and/or instructors in the Boot Camp who are willing to work with a hard of hearing gamer? (I will possibly have an interpreter with me when I show up, but no guarantees, since they have a schedule to adhere to) Also, are there any audio jacks that I can plug into at any station with my new SkullCandy headphones? They have vibration subwoofers that will help with my situational awareness somewhat by vibrating on specific sides of my head when a sound effect goes off in that direction.
I've also pulled out my old SB setup from storage this week to do some self-training as well using the regular SB game. If there is a way I can go online with my Line of Contact copy, please let me know. I know that the old Xbox Live is offline.
Mucho Gracias.
A) burns limited dodges on correcting pilot mistakes vs. avoiding incoming fire, and
Less of an issue for the HSD, as they don't carry any battery-using weaponry until Turn 6.
There's no substitute for knowing the appropriate close combat gear for your VT. Demonstration of the above can be provided upon request.
re: hard of hearing -
We'll happily work with any interpreter you bring, and can keep the pace of training appropriate. I can also provide you with the training curricula - they're not built for end-user consumption but will at least give you the basis of what the trainer's trying to impart. I'll see what I can do about getting you headphone support, though I'm not sure what sounds will be appropriately localized. Still, never hurts to find out.
Appreciated. Looking forward to some VT mayhem this weekend.
Maradine, I'll PM you a pic of the guy to look for to hand out those prized VTs (namely me)
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
My sticks come tomorrow, no practice for me.
That shipping took foooorrrrever.
TTT
One day to a new beginning
(Raise the flag of freedom high!)
Every man will be a king
(Every man will be a king!)
There's a new world for the winning
(There's a new world to be won!)
Do you hear the people sing?
Oh man that should have been the slogan my poster.
I should lose now.
TTT
I'm going to toot my horn here and hope some tougher competition comes out of the woodwork:
How many matches did I do, and what were my VT choices?
Match 1: 4 Kills, 0 Losses. VT Used: Decider. No kills were Plasma Torch kills.
Match 2: 7 Kills, 1 Loss. VT Used: Decider. 3 kills were Plasma Torch kills.
Match 3: 4 Kills, 1 Loss. VT Used: Decider. 2 kills were Plasma Torch kills. Most kills were Scare Faces.
Match 4: 5 Kills, 0 Losses. VT Used: Falchion. My last kill, I had to chase someone down across the entire map before I took him down hard and fast. Most kills were Scare Faces.
Total Kill Count: 20 VTs in 4 matches.
I skipped Turn 3, because I hadn't had any sleep at all the night before PAX, and I decided to retire for the night early on Friday, because I definitely needed to get some *good* sleep before I went onto the battlefield today for Turns 4, 5, and 6. I expect opposition to be fiercer, now that the Hai Shi Dao have access to more combat options while the Pacific Rim Forces are stuck with what we have. There'll be some Colts appearing on the field randomly as well, though how those perform will be a matter of the pilot's skill.
I want a challenge. Make it harder for me. Turn me from a polite Englishman with his pinky finger stickin' out at tea-time into a stark raving lunatic screaming profanities at the screen if you can.
So, do I have any direct challengers? I want to see someone try to knock me around real good. Put me in my place, Hai Shi Dao, I dare you!
Yours Truly,
The VT Aiming At You.
P.S. Tomorrow morning, I'll be posting my updated Kill Count. I encourage others to do so, since we don't seem to have any "live leaderboards" for Steel Battalion.
On behalf of the Hai Shi Dao and the State Secretariat Tractor Committee, I hearby declare:
Titan, for an oppressor, you're not a bad guy. The cheddar that strikes you today is not meant for you, but for the PRF propagandists who have poisoned your mind against the joy of tractor-like progress.
Remember, milk is for cheddar, not for shaking.
a savvy and victorious fighting force while the PRF spent their afternoon getting excited about blowing up cheap Vitzhs.
LOL
Thanks Guyal!
There is no reason you cant be friends with your oppressor!
I'm gonna be cheddar free today, I'm a no show on saturday, but I'll be back to catch cheese on Sunday!
Good luck VT Pilots,
and God Speed.
TTT
So says the dude whose men couldn't figure out what was pounding them from behind.
Come back Sunday! The Campaign is fun; Hai Shi Dai came rushing back yesterday and tied it up this morning with 1 and 2 point victories on an advance. PRF needs your skills to rally!
I'll say. I've had two or three losses in a row this morning. It wasn't pleasant -- I've since given up on the Blade as a viable VT platform and stuck with the Decider. On top of that, I've acquired some new hardware from the Right Brothers. The upcoming turn will be interesting.
Free soda for all humans!
The Hai Shi Dao are doing fine. Their snipers tear me apart before I can even get close to them, and that's even with a lot of dodging. My last match saw me lose three Yellow Jackets in a row for only two kills. The terrain was NOT advantageous for the Yellow Jacket at all. I'm going to be a lot more conservative with it now.
Still, I see there's a lot more HSD players than there are for PRF.
TTT
For completeness here, Titan got in touch with me successfully.
Onward my PRF brethren!
I have 55 confirmed VT kills for the HSD.
Im litterally responsible for 1/7th of all VT's killed on BOTH sides of the war at this point in time. (granted, those are all PRF's killed) but Mara hadnt differentiated kills on either side of the engagement. Im assuming PRF is trying to scramble 'mects together for trades.
Oh yea, you PRF guys wondering how we were fielding the "Rare" Behemoth of turn 5? we swapped the only 3 or 4 cards left between our best arty pilots each match.
Expect more of the same plinks and chedder's tomorrow.
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
Your faction will be known hence forth as Hai Shi Ben.
You *do* know that the PRF doesn't have any distinct, significantly experienced pilots who could match your skill, right? The HSD have a godlike advantage whenever Ben plays. I seem to find myself playing in a lot of matches going up against him, and that's been hurting my own kill count. I didn't even break the 10-kill mark for yesterday. The majority of Ben's kills were against inexperienced rookies who didn't know how to effectively use the Sight thumb control, and were extremely unfamiliar with the aiming system. This severely limited their ability to defend themselves.
I don't think there are any PRF pilots apart from me who are checking the forums - if at all. That makes it significantly more difficult for us since just about all of our pilots were initiated into Steel Battalion combat for the first time in their lives this weekend. If there are indeed experienced SB pilots on PRF, I haven't recognized them, nor do I know who they are.
Also, I seem to be on maps where I make the wrong VT choice, or I do make a good VT choice but end up getting trapped in chokepoints where artillery picks me apart. Frustrating, and the railgun on the Prominence M2 is extremely difficult to get a good handle on when I'm zoomed in on a distant target, as was the case for one of my matches yesterday. I attempted to pick off an artillery unit on the other side of the river, but I didn't seem to be getting any hits despite having eyeballed the shot dead-center on the cockpit at least two times, along with a possible third time. This was with the VT on the edge of my lock-on range, but still within visual range. When I *did* have a target lock, I would fire my Smoothbore (despite the target being out of range) to force a "shot warning" on the enemy VT to get him to waste battery power on dodging since he was well aware of my railgun. When I fired the smoothbore, I'd immediately fire the railgun (it has a charge phase) so that when the VT finished dodging, the shot would be fired.
It's possible that I forgot to turn off FSS on some of those locked-on "feint" shots, though, and they may have gone wide. I need to practice some more with the Prominence M2's railgun today.
Was too focused on keeping the targeting reticule on the target to see if there had been any hits. If there are any range limitations to the Railgun, I'd like to know about it now.
P.S. I hope Capcom takes notice of what's going on here. I plan on visiting the Capcom booth today with my interpreters at 11 to see if I can find a developer there to push the case for an Xbox 360 sequel to Steel Battalion. I'll even try to drag them up to the SB room if they haven't visited already.
Still more cookie brigadiering... I'm a bit worried that I may not actually get to participate in the campaign after all. =( But it's good to know that the free people of Hai Shi Dao are surviving!
Hopefully some better scheduling can be figured out for pilots. It's disappointing to be the only HSD pilot in the waiting area for 20 minutes then have 15 more show up 5 minutes before the next match and get bumped for them.