Yeah for a good while now I’ve been of the mind that Battletech is in need of a top to bottom restoration.
Redo the rules. As in all new, not updated or tweaked or added on to, but new.
And as to the lore and timeline? Fresh start. I mean a lot of the general fluff you can keep, but the rest? Do it again!
I just figure such a move would not sit well with fans. But I see how stupidly well 8th Edition 40K has done in brining in new and old players and generally greatly improving the community that I really want to see something similar happen with Battletech. Cause I love me some Battletech.
Is this where I mention that GW should be releasing their mech game within a year or so?
Because I am pumped for that.
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
I've been burned too much by Games Workshop to be interested in anything they have to offer, past, present, or future.
And I was lucky enough to only have one army completely crippled by their intensely shitty rule design attempts.
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
If I was going to make the fresh start I’d have the Successor States, an expanded/more robust Periphery, and probably the Clans right out the gate.
Probably have some fluff about how outside Sol even the most populated capital worlds only have about 200-500 million citizens. As an vague explanation for the state of warfare and such.
As to the rules? Well a better numbers nerd than I would probably have better ideas.
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
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JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
I like the idea of a reboot, but I think that you'd want to at least start with the iconic 5 Successor States as the status quo. They can have gone through whatever permutations you want before the "current" era, but kicking things off with a group of roughly co-equal factions is a good thing. And maybe make them not quite as explicitly mono-cultural as they were, but I think the various people who've had their hands on the setting recently have done a lot to correct things there.
That is the main thing I want. I really like the 3025 setup as it is because it's a very gameable setup with different sides to pick between and a couple of cool big mysteries. It's just that the stuff leading up to the 3025 status quo could be more interesting than "it was like what you see here, just 300 more years of it." And yeah, the mono-culture stuff is an issue too but you're right that that has improved over time.
I get the impression that some fans are kind of mad that the setting kind of picked sides and made the Davions the good-ish guys and the Capellans the bad-ish guys but honestly, the only thing that really bothers me about that is the racial coding where it looks like white European people beating up on swarthy Fu Manchu stereotypes. If you get rid of that element, I don't mind the setting having a couple of scary authoritarian places and a couple of somewhat more positive places. Plus I think it makes it really interesting when the Clans show up and all these old enemies have to learn to work together.
The other big thing on my wish list is that I would like to see the FWL and Marik finally given their own vibrant identity. For 35 years their identity has been "not like the other 4" and that's basically it. Whenever people try to write up a briefing on the setting they always fall back on the fact that Marik is prone to civil war. That's like the one thing we know about them. It seems like a huge missed opportunity and it would be cool to really dive in and explore them, especially since they're supposed to be the one democracy among the Successor States.
Solaris is legit fun, except the occasional wierd pairings (Nova vs. Atlas). Bring me all the legs, they taste soon good.
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
Problem with the Clans is that it's hard to separate them from all their fun-breaking supertech, which continues to plague the franchise.
Though that could be circumvented by avoiding stupid crap like dumping all the Clan stuff out and ruining balance, then waiting a long while to have Inner Sphere tech to push back. Just say something like Comstar has been expecting something like the Clans to show up and was holding out, then released all the tech at the first sign of the Clans.
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AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
Problem with the Clans is that it's hard to separate them from all their fun-breaking supertech, which continues to plague the franchise.
Though that could be circumvented by avoiding stupid crap like dumping all the Clan stuff out and ruining balance, then waiting a long while to have Inner Sphere tech to push back. Just say something like Comstar has been expecting something like the Clans to show up and was holding out, then released all the tech at the first sign of the Clans.
I suppose in my mind I’d have the Clans not really be technologically better. I’d have their successes be due to being a much more organized military force made up of actual warriors. As opposed to the Successor state’s more feudal, unorganized military.
Y’know stuff like various lords leading their men in to battle, but at the same time not trying too hard to support political rivals out in the field. Or at least supporting them as little as they can while still saving face in court.
I mean there are a number of ways you can make the Clans a viable threat without giving them Super-Tech(tm).
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
Problem with the Clans is that it's hard to separate them from all their fun-breaking supertech, which continues to plague the franchise.
Though that could be circumvented by avoiding stupid crap like dumping all the Clan stuff out and ruining balance, then waiting a long while to have Inner Sphere tech to push back. Just say something like Comstar has been expecting something like the Clans to show up and was holding out, then released all the tech at the first sign of the Clans.
Well, you can argue the timing, but that is kind of what did happen. Clans show up, ComStar counters with their lostech-equipped forces they've kept in hiding, forces a temporary ceasefire, and a few years later opens their vaults to the public.
Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
Actually no. ComStar was initially co-operating and clandestinely aiding the clans, seeing them as a tool to crush the Successorstates and enable ComStar to gain complete dominion over the inner sphere. However, when it turned out that the clans were aiming for Terra (which belonged to ComStar and was the core of their HPG communications Network).
Instead of hording their LosTech reserves for a final takeover off the inner sphere, ComStar had to commit their forces to stopping the Clans before it became too late. The result was the Battle oF Tukayyid, where ComStar challenged the clans to a Trial of Possession. ComStar won, secured a 15 year truce. But for that truce to mean anything they had to build up the successorstates technologically to the point where they could actively resist the clans. So for the first time since the Second Succession war ComStar wasn't sabotaging technological progress, but instead aiding it.
This, together with the technology gleaned from the Helm memory core (25 years earlier) meant that the 3050s and 3060s were a technological golden age for the Inner Sphere. They're still not on par with the clans, but close enough that the Inner Sphere can leverage their size and less rigid warrior code to defeat the them.
"The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
Maybe a nice way to balance the clan tech in a reboot would be to bypass the whole ComStar betrayal and have them supporting the IS tech evolution building up to the Clan invasion. That way the tech would be closer and easier to balance.
Edit: Oh my goodness. Mwomercs changed the coloring on their website making it easier to read!!! No more orange lettering. I'm going to cry now.
MortiousThe Nightmare BeginsMove to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
edited April 2018
So Solaris.
I'm thinking my 3xLPL Thunderbolt with STD engines/deadside would probably be my best? It does quite well in QP duels.
Or my 12xERSL Nova. Though that has little range, it puts out a lot of sustained damage once I get there.
Or maybe this is the time for my 4xUAC5 Stupid clan mech that I forget the name of time to shine. I never could get it work in QP, too slow and tall so it gets focused fired.
edit: It's a Night Gyr
edit2: Could I just stuff an Archer full of rockets? There's only 1 guy to kill so ammo isn't a concern.
I'm desperately trying to make the Cicada 3C work in div 7 but it's just not happening. The maps are just too small for anything but straight brawling. I basically have to hope and pray that the other guy didn't bring anything with speed or an AC10
I'm thinking my 3xLPL Thunderbolt with STD engines/deadside would probably be my best? It does quite well in QP duels.
Or my 12xERSL Nova. Though that has little range, it puts out a lot of sustained damage once I get there.
Or maybe this is the time for my 4xUAC5 Stupid clan mech that I forget the name of time to shine. I never could get it work in QP, too slow and tall so it gets focused fired.
edit: It's a Night Gyr
edit2: Could I just stuff an Archer full of rockets? There's only 1 guy to kill so ammo isn't a concern.
I wish either of the Thunderbolts were great in Solaris. But think they might be terrible in there compared to a Timber Wolf with SRM6s and ERMLs.
Wonder how well the 3LPL and ML Banshee does in there? Darn you guys, making me try to think of my best solo mechs and thinking of trying out Solaris.
Seems like boating LBX is the thing to do in solaris. Thats all I am facing.
Face 5 different LBX MCIIs, LBX Cyclops. F it, time for 4 LB10X mauler.
Hearing this kinda makes me want to try out my pocket-Scorch. I mean, I know how the full-sized version tends to perform...but the Marauder IIC is a fair bit faster than a Night Gyr.
| Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
Eff the clans, have the Fed-Com union spur the FWL and DC to start experimenting with technological advancements, aided anywhere from secretly to not-so-secretly by Comstar and Blake factions.
Battletech history/backstory is so twisted and convoluted that to gaze overly long into it carries great risk.
I feel like 3025 Battletech is really clean and straightforward. It's a great setup for a game. There are these five big countries, they fight a lot and just got done with a big fight so now you, Player Character, get to be a merc doing black ops for all of them. There is a clean setup, clear conflicts, a couple of good mysteries (what was up with that Kerensky guy disappearing with half the army? why do the people running the phone company seem kind of off?) and you're off to the races.
I feel like it's after the Clans - particularly after the FedCom Civil War - that the setting just really loses the plot and gets lost up its own butt with endless, recursive complexity.
Battletech could totally use a clean slate ground up revamp.
I wouldn't mind a total ground-up do-over of the rules and premise, with a major reboot of the fiction that doesn't outright get rid of all the houses and whatnot.
I'd probably want a reworking of mechs mass and weapon ranges at the top of the list. Make the mechs heavy enough that it actually makes even a slightly amount of sense that a cheaper, tougher, simpler tank couldn't do the same job better, upgrade how much damage they can take, and turn up weapon ranges to something that makes sense. A 400-ton mech shaking off a series of hits that could individually smash a tank makes them a lot more impressive than mechs that are only better than tanks because everybody agrees not to point out that mechs are dumb compared to tanks.
Given that we have 62-ton tanks rolling around right this second, the 20-100 ton range for mech mass does ring a bit hollow. From a game system standpoint, though, having a nice, even 100-ton limit makes sense. The range goes in increments of five tons for a reason, after all.
Yeah, but it also wouldn't at all be hard to change to something like a range of 100-500 tons with everything done in increments of 50 tons. The math on that works out to the same number of weight slots as we have now, and mechs with 50 tons of difference but in the same weight range could be made a hell of lot different from each other than mechs with only 5 tons of difference.
And with mechs that massive, it would also make a lot more sense that they end up generational weapons that are hard as shit to really destroy, but also really expensive.
And it would be a size range where simply building tanks bigger wouldn't really let them match up, because the tanks would end up so huge and slow as to be pointless. Trying to equip it with one big cannon wouldn't necessarily work either, since aiming it would be slow and unwieldy and not necessarily even practical. In comparison, a mech would be incredibly mobile and sport a far more versatile range of weapons. A 100-ton scout mech might be the smallest mech, but it would still be a massive war machine with incredible speed and maneuverability compared to a tank.
I've always been of the opinion that they used small numbers for digestability, I always add a zero to weapon ranges and mech tonnages in my head because of that. an atlas that weights 1000 tons and can shoot its main cannon at 2.7km sounds a lot better than a 100 ton atlas that shoots 270m.
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JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
I said this last thread, but the clans are only a problem in competitive games like MWO. You don't have to do anything at all to fix them beyond not sticking them in a dumb deathmatch shooter or competitive wargame unless they're outnumbered to the right degree.
From a story point of view I think the Inner Sphere having to come together to fight a seemingly invincible foe, and slowly learn how to win, is one of the iconic Battletech stories. I loved playing through it in MW2: Mercenaries - that mission where you steal the hovertank and escape from literally under their noses was one of my favorite gaming moments ever - and I want to go through it again in a good, modern game.
Battletech history/backstory is so twisted and convoluted that to gaze overly long into it carries great risk.
I feel like 3025 Battletech is really clean and straightforward. It's a great setup for a game. There are these five big countries, they fight a lot and just got done with a big fight so now you, Player Character, get to be a merc doing black ops for all of them. There is a clean setup, clear conflicts, a couple of good mysteries (what was up with that Kerensky guy disappearing with half the army? why do the people running the phone company seem kind of off?) and you're off to the races.
I feel like it's after the Clans - particularly after the FedCom Civil War - that the setting just really loses the plot and gets lost up its own butt with endless, recursive complexity.
Battletech could totally use a clean slate ground up revamp.
I wouldn't mind a total ground-up do-over of the rules and premise, with a major reboot of the fiction that doesn't outright get rid of all the houses and whatnot.
I'd probably want a reworking of mechs mass and weapon ranges at the top of the list. Make the mechs heavy enough that it actually makes even a slightly amount of sense that a cheaper, tougher, simpler tank couldn't do the same job better, upgrade how much damage they can take, and turn up weapon ranges to something that makes sense. A 400-ton mech shaking off a series of hits that could individually smash a tank makes them a lot more impressive than mechs that are only better than tanks because everybody agrees not to point out that mechs are dumb compared to tanks.
Given that we have 62-ton tanks rolling around right this second, the 20-100 ton range for mech mass does ring a bit hollow. From a game system standpoint, though, having a nice, even 100-ton limit makes sense. The range goes in increments of five tons for a reason, after all.
Yeah, but it also wouldn't at all be hard to change to something like a range of 100-500 tons with everything done in increments of 50 tons. The math on that works out to the same number of weight slots as we have now, and mechs with 50 tons of difference but in the same weight range could be made a hell of lot different from each other than mechs with only 5 tons of difference.
And with mechs that massive, it would also make a lot more sense that they end up generational weapons that are hard as shit to really destroy, but also really expensive.
And it would be a size range where simply building tanks bigger wouldn't really let them match up, because the tanks would end up so huge and slow as to be pointless. Trying to equip it with one big cannon wouldn't necessarily work either, since aiming it would be slow and unwieldy and not necessarily even practical. In comparison, a mech would be incredibly mobile and sport a far more versatile range of weapons. A 100-ton scout mech might be the smallest mech, but it would still be a massive war machine with incredible speed and maneuverability compared to a tank.
I've always been of the opinion that they used small numbers for digestability, I always add a zero to weapon ranges and mech tonnages in my head because of that. an atlas that weights 1000 tons and can shoot its main cannon at 2.7km sounds a lot better than a 100 ton atlas that shoots 270m.
They had to keep ranges relatively short to restrict play areas to a reasonable size, otherwise the game wouldn't fit on a table top.
And if they made hexes represent longer distances, things like melee attacks and infantry movement stop making sense.
In other news, Solaris is great at showing you exactly how mediocre you are. Goddamn.
Hopefully the franchise moving towards some ownership consolidation will make it possible to clean things up.
It is?
Is Topps selling?
Not that I'm aware. As far as my understanding:
Topps owns the IP and all licensing rights except for computer games, as previously acquired from the FASA/Wizkids lineage.
(Topps is owned by two private equity and investment firms, 50/50, btw. It's business shenanigans all the way up.)
CGL currently has usage rights to the license to produce tabletop products based on the IP.
Microsoft owns all licensing rights to computer games based on the IP.
PGI currently has usage rights to the license to produce computer games.
HBS presumably has something similar to PGI; I'm a little fuzzy on the exact terms.
As far as I know, none of this has recently or is expected to shift around any further. PGI, per their previous announcement, has the license until mid-2018 with a potential extension to mid-2020 depending on undisclosed criteria (presumably a production/usage clause or somesuch).
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ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
Hopefully the franchise moving towards some ownership consolidation will make it possible to clean things up.
It is?
Is Topps selling?
Not that I'm aware. As far as my understanding:
Topps owns the IP and all licensing rights except for computer games, as previously acquired from the FASA/Wizkids lineage.
(Topps is owned by two private equity and investment firms, 50/50, btw. It's business shenanigans all the way up.)
CGL currently has usage rights to the license to produce tabletop products based on the IP.
Microsoft owns all licensing rights to computer games based on the IP.
PGI currently has usage rights to the license to produce computer games.
HBS presumably has something similar to PGI; I'm a little fuzzy on the exact terms.
As far as I know, none of this has recently or is expected to shift around any further. PGI, per their previous announcement, has the license until mid-2018 with a potential extension to mid-2020 depending on undisclosed criteria (presumably a production/usage clause or somesuch).
I said this last thread, but the clans are only a problem in competitive games like MWO. You don't have to do anything at all to fix them beyond not sticking them in a dumb deathmatch shooter or competitive wargame unless they're outnumbered to the right degree.
From a story point of view I think the Inner Sphere having to come together to fight a seemingly invincible foe, and slowly learn how to win, is one of the iconic Battletech stories. I loved playing through it in MW2: Mercenaries - that mission where you steal the hovertank and escape from literally under their noses was one of my favorite gaming moments ever - and I want to go through it again in a good, modern game.
Agreed
IF you are gonna put the clans in a game, you have either have to be able to do true asymmetrical warfare with large numbers vs elite forces, or you are gonna have to normalize and weaken the clans to be on a 1v1 parity with IS.
Basically, PGI is a shining example of what not to do.
In clan vs clan game it would be fun to have a zellbrigen nemesis or reputation system where opponents learn and remember how well you adhere and treat you inside and outside of combat differently as a result.
I said this last thread, but the clans are only a problem in competitive games like MWO. You don't have to do anything at all to fix them beyond not sticking them in a dumb deathmatch shooter or competitive wargame unless they're outnumbered to the right degree.
From a story point of view I think the Inner Sphere having to come together to fight a seemingly invincible foe, and slowly learn how to win, is one of the iconic Battletech stories. I loved playing through it in MW2: Mercenaries - that mission where you steal the hovertank and escape from literally under their noses was one of my favorite gaming moments ever - and I want to go through it again in a good, modern game.
Agreed
IF you are gonna put the clans in a game, you have either have to be able to do true asymmetrical warfare with large numbers vs elite forces, or you are gonna have to normalize and weaken the clans to be on a 1v1 parity with IS.
Basically, PGI is a shining example of what not to do.
I would have loved to see a Clan vs. IS where you could only bring in stock mechs. That would have been interesting at least.
Hopefully the franchise moving towards some ownership consolidation will make it possible to clean things up.
It is?
Is Topps selling?
Not that I'm aware. As far as my understanding:
Topps owns the IP and all licensing rights except for computer games, as previously acquired from the FASA/Wizkids lineage.
(Topps is owned by two private equity and investment firms, 50/50, btw. It's business shenanigans all the way up.)
CGL currently has usage rights to the license to produce tabletop products based on the IP.
Microsoft owns all licensing rights to computer games based on the IP.
PGI currently has usage rights to the license to produce computer games.
HBS presumably has something similar to PGI; I'm a little fuzzy on the exact terms.
As far as I know, none of this has recently or is expected to shift around any further. PGI, per their previous announcement, has the license until mid-2018 with a potential extension to mid-2020 depending on undisclosed criteria (presumably a production/usage clause or somesuch).
Hopefully the franchise moving towards some ownership consolidation will make it possible to clean things up.
It is?
Is Topps selling?
Not that I'm aware. As far as my understanding:
Topps owns the IP and all licensing rights except for computer games, as previously acquired from the FASA/Wizkids lineage.
(Topps is owned by two private equity and investment firms, 50/50, btw. It's business shenanigans all the way up.)
CGL currently has usage rights to the license to produce tabletop products based on the IP.
Microsoft owns all licensing rights to computer games based on the IP.
PGI currently has usage rights to the license to produce computer games.
HBS presumably has something similar to PGI; I'm a little fuzzy on the exact terms.
As far as I know, none of this has recently or is expected to shift around any further. PGI, per their previous announcement, has the license until mid-2018 with a potential extension to mid-2020 depending on undisclosed criteria (presumably a production/usage clause or somesuch).
That was my understanding too
I’m curious what "Styrofoam Sammich" was on about
That IP case wrapping up.
I wasn’t aware it was wrapping up. Did the judge make a ruling on the motion for a letter rogatory?
In any case that doesn’t change the fact that the actual Battletech IP rights (not the licensing for the Macross characters) is split up across like a half dozen different licenses and sublicenses
Like FASA still exists on paper and holds the actual copyrights but publishing rights are licensed to WizKids which is owned by Topps who sublicenses them to CGL etc and videogame rights are held by FASA Interactive which is owned by Microsoft who sublicenses them to PGI and HBS
And I honestly don’t know how many other companies and shuttered subsidiaries etc are involved because the whole thing is kind of an IP nightmare even before you bring in the Macross/Robotech issue
Edit: for some reason I did my own independent attempt at unraveling the Battletech licenses despite the fact that Nips did the same thing already because I literally forgot it while writing the post. God I’m getting old
Elldren on
fuck gendered marketing
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KayWhat we need...Is a little bit of PANIC.Registered Userregular
Tynnanseldom correct, never unsureRegistered Userregular
Two big reasons the Clan invasion stalled out were the Clans' overextended supply lines and their tactical inflexibility. Those are impossible to incorporate in a deathmatch arena brawler like MWO, but in a game with a strategic layer and relevant supply limitations they become reasonable and interesting gameplay concerns.
I wish this game had the nemesis system. I swear the one game that has it is a game where things die constantly, what a waste.
Mech pilots by comparison die very infrequently, what between the running away, ejecting, or being ransomed off. You could build some epic legacies over time for your adversaries.
That’s the one thing i’ve seen in the game so far that has left me quite disappointed. Streamer was fighting an enemy mech, had destroyed all of its weapons, blown off a side torso. And the mech just kept like, trying to melee ram the streamer. No! Run away, quit the field! If you want the player to buy into mechs being precious in universe the pilots need to treat them as precious.
Besides, it would force an interesting strategic decision of “Do I shoot the crippled enemy that is running away to secure salvage or do I focus on the enemies that can still attack?”
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Is this where I mention that GW should be releasing their mech game within a year or so?
Because I am pumped for that.
And I was lucky enough to only have one army completely crippled by their intensely shitty rule design attempts.
Probably have some fluff about how outside Sol even the most populated capital worlds only have about 200-500 million citizens. As an vague explanation for the state of warfare and such.
As to the rules? Well a better numbers nerd than I would probably have better ideas.
That is the main thing I want. I really like the 3025 setup as it is because it's a very gameable setup with different sides to pick between and a couple of cool big mysteries. It's just that the stuff leading up to the 3025 status quo could be more interesting than "it was like what you see here, just 300 more years of it." And yeah, the mono-culture stuff is an issue too but you're right that that has improved over time.
I get the impression that some fans are kind of mad that the setting kind of picked sides and made the Davions the good-ish guys and the Capellans the bad-ish guys but honestly, the only thing that really bothers me about that is the racial coding where it looks like white European people beating up on swarthy Fu Manchu stereotypes. If you get rid of that element, I don't mind the setting having a couple of scary authoritarian places and a couple of somewhat more positive places. Plus I think it makes it really interesting when the Clans show up and all these old enemies have to learn to work together.
The other big thing on my wish list is that I would like to see the FWL and Marik finally given their own vibrant identity. For 35 years their identity has been "not like the other 4" and that's basically it. Whenever people try to write up a briefing on the setting they always fall back on the fact that Marik is prone to civil war. That's like the one thing we know about them. It seems like a huge missed opportunity and it would be cool to really dive in and explore them, especially since they're supposed to be the one democracy among the Successor States.
Though that could be circumvented by avoiding stupid crap like dumping all the Clan stuff out and ruining balance, then waiting a long while to have Inner Sphere tech to push back. Just say something like Comstar has been expecting something like the Clans to show up and was holding out, then released all the tech at the first sign of the Clans.
I suppose in my mind I’d have the Clans not really be technologically better. I’d have their successes be due to being a much more organized military force made up of actual warriors. As opposed to the Successor state’s more feudal, unorganized military.
Y’know stuff like various lords leading their men in to battle, but at the same time not trying too hard to support political rivals out in the field. Or at least supporting them as little as they can while still saving face in court.
I mean there are a number of ways you can make the Clans a viable threat without giving them Super-Tech(tm).
Well, you can argue the timing, but that is kind of what did happen. Clans show up, ComStar counters with their lostech-equipped forces they've kept in hiding, forces a temporary ceasefire, and a few years later opens their vaults to the public.
Instead of hording their LosTech reserves for a final takeover off the inner sphere, ComStar had to commit their forces to stopping the Clans before it became too late. The result was the Battle oF Tukayyid, where ComStar challenged the clans to a Trial of Possession. ComStar won, secured a 15 year truce. But for that truce to mean anything they had to build up the successorstates technologically to the point where they could actively resist the clans. So for the first time since the Second Succession war ComStar wasn't sabotaging technological progress, but instead aiding it.
This, together with the technology gleaned from the Helm memory core (25 years earlier) meant that the 3050s and 3060s were a technological golden age for the Inner Sphere. They're still not on par with the clans, but close enough that the Inner Sphere can leverage their size and less rigid warrior code to defeat the them.
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
Edit: Oh my goodness. Mwomercs changed the coloring on their website making it easier to read!!! No more orange lettering. I'm going to cry now.
Steam: betsuni7
I'm thinking my 3xLPL Thunderbolt with STD engines/deadside would probably be my best? It does quite well in QP duels.
Or my 12xERSL Nova. Though that has little range, it puts out a lot of sustained damage once I get there.
Or maybe this is the time for my 4xUAC5 Stupid clan mech that I forget the name of time to shine. I never could get it work in QP, too slow and tall so it gets focused fired.
edit: It's a Night Gyr
edit2: Could I just stuff an Archer full of rockets? There's only 1 guy to kill so ammo isn't a concern.
It’s not a very important country most of the time
http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
I wish either of the Thunderbolts were great in Solaris. But think they might be terrible in there compared to a Timber Wolf with SRM6s and ERMLs.
Wonder how well the 3LPL and ML Banshee does in there? Darn you guys, making me try to think of my best solo mechs and thinking of trying out Solaris.
Steam: betsuni7
Face 5 different LBX MCIIs, LBX Cyclops. F it, time for 4 LB10X mauler.
Hearing this kinda makes me want to try out my pocket-Scorch. I mean, I know how the full-sized version tends to perform...but the Marauder IIC is a fair bit faster than a Night Gyr.
I've always been of the opinion that they used small numbers for digestability, I always add a zero to weapon ranges and mech tonnages in my head because of that. an atlas that weights 1000 tons and can shoot its main cannon at 2.7km sounds a lot better than a 100 ton atlas that shoots 270m.
From a story point of view I think the Inner Sphere having to come together to fight a seemingly invincible foe, and slowly learn how to win, is one of the iconic Battletech stories. I loved playing through it in MW2: Mercenaries - that mission where you steal the hovertank and escape from literally under their noses was one of my favorite gaming moments ever - and I want to go through it again in a good, modern game.
You just need to balance them with things like BV, or logistics, or other mechanics.
It just often isn't.
They had to keep ranges relatively short to restrict play areas to a reasonable size, otherwise the game wouldn't fit on a table top.
And if they made hexes represent longer distances, things like melee attacks and infantry movement stop making sense.
In other news, Solaris is great at showing you exactly how mediocre you are. Goddamn.
It is?
Is Topps selling?
Had to get that off my chest.
Not that I'm aware. As far as my understanding:
Topps owns the IP and all licensing rights except for computer games, as previously acquired from the FASA/Wizkids lineage.
(Topps is owned by two private equity and investment firms, 50/50, btw. It's business shenanigans all the way up.)
CGL currently has usage rights to the license to produce tabletop products based on the IP.
Microsoft owns all licensing rights to computer games based on the IP.
PGI currently has usage rights to the license to produce computer games.
HBS presumably has something similar to PGI; I'm a little fuzzy on the exact terms.
As far as I know, none of this has recently or is expected to shift around any further. PGI, per their previous announcement, has the license until mid-2018 with a potential extension to mid-2020 depending on undisclosed criteria (presumably a production/usage clause or somesuch).
That was my understanding too
I’m curious what @Styrofoam Sammich was on about
Agreed
IF you are gonna put the clans in a game, you have either have to be able to do true asymmetrical warfare with large numbers vs elite forces, or you are gonna have to normalize and weaken the clans to be on a 1v1 parity with IS.
Basically, PGI is a shining example of what not to do.
I would have loved to see a Clan vs. IS where you could only bring in stock mechs. That would have been interesting at least.
Steam: betsuni7
That IP case wrapping up.
I wasn’t aware it was wrapping up. Did the judge make a ruling on the motion for a letter rogatory?
In any case that doesn’t change the fact that the actual Battletech IP rights (not the licensing for the Macross characters) is split up across like a half dozen different licenses and sublicenses
Like FASA still exists on paper and holds the actual copyrights but publishing rights are licensed to WizKids which is owned by Topps who sublicenses them to CGL etc and videogame rights are held by FASA Interactive which is owned by Microsoft who sublicenses them to PGI and HBS
And I honestly don’t know how many other companies and shuttered subsidiaries etc are involved because the whole thing is kind of an IP nightmare even before you bring in the Macross/Robotech issue
Edit: for some reason I did my own independent attempt at unraveling the Battletech licenses despite the fact that Nips did the same thing already because I literally forgot it while writing the post. God I’m getting old
3DS FCode: 1993-7512-8991
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Someone needs to make a countdown timer. It is killing me knowing that I won't be able to get to the game till the Sunday after it launches.
Steam: betsuni7
Mech pilots by comparison die very infrequently, what between the running away, ejecting, or being ransomed off. You could build some epic legacies over time for your adversaries.
That’s the one thing i’ve seen in the game so far that has left me quite disappointed. Streamer was fighting an enemy mech, had destroyed all of its weapons, blown off a side torso. And the mech just kept like, trying to melee ram the streamer. No! Run away, quit the field! If you want the player to buy into mechs being precious in universe the pilots need to treat them as precious.
Besides, it would force an interesting strategic decision of “Do I shoot the crippled enemy that is running away to secure salvage or do I focus on the enemies that can still attack?”