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C is for Capellan Confederation, that's good enough for me.
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Apr 10, 2012 03:33
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"Marik is ours" Prove it, fuckers.  Voting B.
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Apr 10, 2012 03:39
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A The sensible path.
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Apr 10, 2012 03:43
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The Capellans will probably be in the strongest position to make a power play for great unstoppable empire if the A) Consolidate. B means the FWL falls but New Syrtis rises. C means New Syrtis gets rolled but the FWL gets a breather and the NRWR gets the opportunity to take advantage of the sudden shift in gears. Really, I don't have much in stake here except for a fondness for the eternally ignored underdog, that being the FWL, so I think it probably makes the best sense to defer to Justin Xiang's wisdom. Even if Romano Liao might be a potential nutter, I do like the idea of that guy establishing himself as the "Shadow Chancellor" and making the Capellans into a very legitimate and very threatening power in the Sphere.
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Apr 10, 2012 03:47
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Scenario B, because one way or another somebody's gonna get it in the neck and that makes for the best television. Just ask Mr. Fisher.
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Apr 10, 2012 03:49
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Voting B. Time to show Marik who's boss!
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Apr 10, 2012 03:50
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If C is a vote for chaos then C it is!
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Apr 10, 2012 03:57
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All three options have the chance of resulting in hilarity. I want to say option B for maximum Cappellan craziness and single-mindedness, but Romano does place a great deal of stock in what Justin Xiang has to say on matters. Hmmm.... With Option B, it means that Rolling Thunder will very likely be destroyed. The hell with it, I vote for Option C. With Romano's attention turned towards Steamrolling The Duchy of New Syrtis, perhaps the remnants of the FWL's elite units (maybe Rolling Thunder even!) can perform a Counting Coup style strike on Romano and Justin, and really shake things up (even more than present).
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Apr 10, 2012 03:59
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C for the Confederation! Smashing the FWL entirely does sound tempting, but I could never resist a chance to see some dirty fedrats eat PPC. The FWL is already pretty messed up and I wouldn't be surprised if the NRWR would be equally like to take Marik weakness to their advantage instead of pressing the attack. Also, right now the Capellan March is politically seperated from the Suns and Hanse has all his eggs in the Combine right now; he won't be able to meaningfully intervene in this war or he will be in danger of losing his new and much larger base of subjects. The Duchy of New Syrtis may have good mechwarriors; but it's a small upstart nation versus a full blown successor state. I also vote that Justin Xiang get busy knocking up Romano already, we gotta have some Sun-Tzu excellence at some point.
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Apr 10, 2012 04:00
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C kill kill KILL
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Apr 10, 2012 04:02
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Voting B because gently caress the Capellans. (Also if the next vote makes me play Capellans I'll be  )
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Apr 10, 2012 04:05
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Voting A on this one!
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Apr 10, 2012 04:05
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I vote A because I seriously do not know
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Apr 10, 2012 04:12
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B
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Apr 10, 2012 04:16
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Voting C! Crush the upstart duchy and then turn back to the crippled FWL and finish the job! I'm really wondering what Comstar is up to these days. The HPG arrays are being compromised, the succesor states are in the process of either being mulched or having their political situations violently changed or both. They've leaked some tech, but haven't shown their full hand. Are they trying to make contact with the clans for negotiations? Concentrate their forces for some sort of pitched Tukayyid style defense? Fall back on Earth?
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Apr 10, 2012 04:17
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Vote B, middle of the road choice best choice.
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Apr 10, 2012 04:38
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cafel posted:Voting C! Crush the upstart duchy and then turn back to the crippled FWL and finish the job! I understand they are spending a lot of time trying to find the Red Corsair, for one. They also may be hamstringing the FWL since Duncan is probably the most hostile to them (Hanse tries to keep it a little bit hidden).
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Apr 10, 2012 04:42
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C Kill 'em all, let Blake sort 'em out.
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Apr 10, 2012 04:45
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C C C C C Come on, I even assassinated Syrtis' Solaris representative for you! They're easy pickings! also House Marik needs time to get its house in order
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Apr 10, 2012 04:47
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GreyjoyBastard posted:C C C C C Careful, "House Marik needs time to get its house in order" is a euphemism for civil war.
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Apr 10, 2012 04:51
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oh god oh god oh god do I vote for chaos or murder uhhhhh uhhhhh let's do C and pray that the NRWR invades the FWL, who then pre-emptively defends itself against future Capellan aggression, leading to a quarter of the Inner Sphere becoming Chaos March II: This Time NO YOU DIE. Either that or the Capellans shoot themselves in the foot... Yes. Yes, this pleases me.
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Apr 10, 2012 04:52
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Defiance Industries posted:Careful, "House Marik needs time to get its house in order" is a euphemism for civil war. Only the strongest shall rule! Death to the usurper who shall arbitrarily change five or six times! Glory to the Free Worlds League!
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Apr 10, 2012 05:02
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Alright it's been three pages since anyone voted for mechs, so I thought I'd take an informal count and see what the numbers are looking like. Hopefully this is OK, if not PTN just say the word and I'll edit it out. Here's the current standings: any errors are mine, not guaranteed to be accurate, etc. pre:DS1) Meteor by Rorac DS2) Tadakatsu by Picard Day 1 DS3) Lion by Hob_Gadling 5 DS4) Victor by The Merry Marauder 4 DS5) Tachi by AJ_Impy 1 DS6) Yari by Shoeless 1 DS7) Mackie by KnoxZone 11 DS8) Battlemaster by dis astranagant 2 DS9) Caliburn by Ferrosol 2 DS10) Sunfire by Captain Foo 1 DS11) Wildebeest by Among CC designs, AJ_Impy's Pepperpot has the lead, with Hob_Gadling's Illuminati a distant second and then three mechs tied for third: Picard Day's Po, The Merry Marauder's Battlemaster, and T.G. Xarbala's Raven. All vote numbers are very low for this thread so I feel like it could still easily be anyone's game. It'd also be good to go back and give a second look to some of the more overlooked designs. ---- For the political vote, I vote B.
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Apr 10, 2012 05:09
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Eh, I just don't like seeing anyone not get a vote....including me. Suns: DS12 & CC17 Cappies: CC18
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Apr 10, 2012 05:17
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Gonna pass on voting for mech choices because I cannot for the life of me make any sense of all those words and numbers, even with PTN's notes.  Political vote, gonna go with B.
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Apr 10, 2012 05:22
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For Mech choices: Capellan: CC23, I like that it's one of the few Mechs that has a flamer on it, which is something the Capellans tend to carry. The popular Pepperpot is just too slow for my tastes. They already have a slow, single-weapon light mech, they don't need two. DS: DS4, In the original timeline the Kuritans field the primary Victor upgrade so why not? It's also one of those Mechs that I just can't help but wonder where the tonnage went (It's called 80-tonner with 4/6/4 movement!) DS15, Gotta love the crazy Shadow Hawk refit. Biggest thing I have against the Oni is that it is a hundred ton quad, but it doesn't have the armor of a hundred ton quad. It doesn't even have the armor of an eighty ton quad.
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Apr 10, 2012 05:28
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Wasn't really expecting my entry to get any votes. Can't wait to see what it looks like after T.G. Xarbala was talking about how pretty it is.
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Apr 10, 2012 05:48
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W.T. Fits posted:Gonna pass on voting for mech choices because I cannot for the life of me make any sense of all those words and numbers, even with PTN's notes. Yeah, the mechs are just to much, I would have preferred PTN shortlist some and then pick from that.
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Apr 10, 2012 05:57
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My votes: DS12) Super Dragon by LeschNyhan DS22) Battlemaster by landcollector CC18) Catapult by Shoeless Some really cool designs, good work folks.
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Apr 10, 2012 06:01
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I feel kind of weird about voting for myself so I still need to look through the 'mechs and pick out my votes. That being said, everyone should vote for DS29 because I heard it was awesome. In fact, I can promise that 'mech will live up to its name! (Whether or not by being a monstrous failure I cannot promise.) Taerkar posted:Biggest thing I have against the Oni is that it is a hundred ton quad, but it doesn't have the armor of a hundred ton quad. It doesn't even have the armor of an eighty ton quad. Yeah I knew I was asking for it with the armor loadout (I actually didn't know anything special about quads and armor) but I felt that at the range the Oni would try to be fighting from would allow for a little more squishiness than usual. Plus it can jump! Plek fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Apr 10, 2012 |
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Apr 10, 2012 06:01
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Cthulhu Dreams posted:Yeah, the mechs are just to much, I would have preferred PTN shortlist some and then pick from that. I warned you I got a ton. I probably should've limited people to one entry DS or CC; a lot of entrants people only sent me one entry anyway. Maybe I should do an elimination round: Any `Mech that doesn't get at least 3-4 votes is eliminated, then we do a real vote on the rest.
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Apr 10, 2012 06:03
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PoptartsNinja posted:I warned you I got a ton. I probably should've limited people to one entry DS or CC; a lot of entrants people only sent me one entry anyway. I hope for the second round of voting we can see Xarbala's illustrations. I don't know about everyone else, but I always thought a big part of Battletech was choosing mechs that looked cool rather than choosing the best-designed. I would have liked to see it for the first round. I'm sure my pathetic, Newt Gingrich-like Yorinaga would have garnered a few more votes if we'd got to see the Tomahawk knockoff Xarbala is eventually, finally going to do for it.
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Apr 10, 2012 06:24
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A. Justin Xiang probably knows what's best. Maybe.
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Apr 10, 2012 06:26
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A because... well that seems wafflely enough to keep chaos rolling.
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Apr 10, 2012 06:28
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PoptartsNinja posted:I warned you I got a ton. I probably should've limited people to one entry DS or CC; a lot of entrants people only sent me one entry anyway. So as not to let Xarbala's good work go to waste, I'll have to vote DS8 then. And CC1 and DS17 for good measure.
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Apr 10, 2012 06:28
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I just realized something... 60 or so mechs, some good, some bad, with illustrations... Did we just write TRO: PoptartsNinja? Hey PTN and Xarbala, why don't you guys make an (un)official sourcebook for PTN's campaign. I'm sure there are some other designers/writers amongst the thread participants and lurkers that could do some 4th Succession War-style operational/strategic/tactical maps and the formatting, and so on... Package PTN's vignettes up into little sidebar content, and the aforementioned TRO:3032...
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Apr 10, 2012 06:35
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The first option is the boring, middle-of-the-road option (at least as presented, who knows what mysteries await us in the consequences). It's the actual good advice and sound strategy. The second and third are ballsy gambles with the potential for big wins for the Capellans or big losses. I know Hanse has a reputation as a mastermind, but is he cunning enough to predict New Syrtis's defection and use it to create breathing room between himself and the Confederation? Let Hasek fight it out for a few years and lose support and ground while Hanse defeats the clans, then once the Draconis Suns is secure be welcomed by the people of New Syrtis who're looking for someone to save them from their losing war with the Capellans? Maybe go all tenth-dimensional chess and reveal Justin as the longest of all long-game spies who then slots carefully into the throne of power and brings the Confederation on-side, which brings in the shattered league after the Cappellans are through with them. What about the Lyrans? They die from shock. But anyway, there's no way to scare Hasek off. The whole reason he seceded was to get his war with the Capellans, if the Capellans show strength it'll just make it harder on him but he'll still invade. So that in mind, C is the choice that sees Hasek get it hardest in the teeth and lets the League get beaten up by the Rim Worlds instead for a while.
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Apr 10, 2012 06:38
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TildeATH posted:Hey PTN and Xarbala, why don't you guys make an (un)official sourcebook for PTN's campaign. I'm sure there are some other designers/writers amongst the thread participants and lurkers that could do some 4th Succession War-style operational/strategic/tactical maps and the formatting, and so on... Package PTN's vignettes up into little sidebar content, and the aforementioned TRO:3032... Wouldn't be the first fan sourcebook I've worked on. I could talk about XTRO: Clan Homoerotic Panther more but I promised PTN I would never post anything like the Popobawa ever again.
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Apr 10, 2012 06:45
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PoptartsNinja posted:I warned you I got a ton. I probably should've limited people to one entry DS or CC; a lot of entrants people only sent me one entry anyway. What can I say, hindsight is 20/20. Elimination round probably works.
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Apr 10, 2012 06:45
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W.T. Fits posted:Gonna pass on voting for mech choices because I cannot for the life of me make any sense of all those words and numbers, even with PTN's notes. I've seen several posts to this rough effect, and while I'm no great shakes at the numbers myself (it's been literally a decade since I played BTech) I figured I could still try some brief summations to clarify some of the designs for people and maybe give readers something more comprehensible to base a vote on. Any of these impressions and any of the opinions contained therein are my own, and might be provably wrong, in which case I expect I'll be corrected. Draconis Suns Design Proposals DS1 is a quad-'Mech (a 'Mech that has four legs instead of two legs and two arms) based around the eminently simple proposition of "use my big gun to punch holes in armor and then use some SRMs to fire at that hole." It's pretty well-armored and has jump-jets for some minimal maneuverability upgrades. It's basically a howitzer with some missile launchers duct-taped to it. New design. DS2 is a standard biped configuration 'Mech that throws out a lot of boom - based around the Heavy PPC for blowing people into big chunks with plenty of lasers and SRMs for added kick. In classic Kuritan style it has rear-facing weapons (2 medium lasers facing the rear in compared to 4 small lasers facing front means it actually could dish out more damage to a dude behind it than in front of it). It's a very Kuritan 'Mech. New design. DS3 is basically a bigger Panther (remember those?) with a really huge gun on it. Kuritans looooove their Panthers, and after Luthien, the Hell's Horses must fuckin' hate 'em. DS4 is a refit Victor, which is a venerable design used throughout the Inner Sphere; it's a classic. Upgrading the AC to the new HVAC and adding some armor, this Victor swaps out some of its secondary armament for more armor and a Flamer for use in anti-infantry and woods-lighting-on-fire duties. Packs a punch at range and feels pretty Davion to me. DS5 is a massive and slow fire-support 'Mech mounting a Gauss Rifle, an HVAC/10, and a Heavy PPC, meaning that if it gets you in its sights it will gently caress you up. Kinda ponderous and doesn't have a lot of close-range backup weaponry, meaning that speedy Light 'Mechs can get inside on it and start messing with it, but that's why 'Mechs work in teams. New design. DS6 is imagined as a slightly scaled-down Atlas, and uses none of the new experimental tech. It's 85 tons, kinda slow and expensive, but an AC/20 and two PPCs give it plenty of kick. It's not a fancy 'Mech by any stretch of the imagination, but when integrating two armies who have previously hated one another, maybe giving them tried-and-true systems that they know how to use might be a good idea, rather than adding still more unfamiliarity. New design, though PTN hints it could be constructed on a Charger frame. DS7 is a Mackie. The Mackie was the first true BattleMech, and was symbolic of the Terran Hegemony's might; this Mackie is intended to be symbolic of the union between the Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns. It's like a new-model classic car that doesn't lose all its charm while being updated. It, too, is a little slow (a lot of the designers seem to have a real hard-on for heavies and assaults - granted that it's hard to include the massive new tech into a lighter 'Mech, but still, that's a lotta heavy bruisers) but has the close-range armament to keep itself reasonably safe from zerg rushing lights and it, too, has rear-mounted lasers, which I adore (and the Kuritans will too). DS8 is a Battlemaster that trades some of its short-range weaponry to upgrade its PPC to the new Heavy PPC and add some jump jets and an additional heat sink. "Jump and shoot all day, bracket firing the guns," says the designer, and that seems pretty apt to me. Nothing fancy, just solid fundamentals. DS9 is a pretty solid design - new, rather than a refit or modification or revamp of an older model, which I have to admit I find a little disappointing; it's an 80 ton 'Mech, you can't say "well, the new DracSuns have all these useless Charger chassis pieces laying around, let's gut 'em and use that frame as the foundation for something that doesn't suck?" Still, a solid, if slightly slow design, based around the Heavy PPC and the Gauss Rifle to tear poo poo apart while mounting close-range weaponry to keep it safe at short range. Quality design, though as mentioned I knock off points for brand-new designs, given that it's far more common in-universe to make do with what you've got to hand than to make something bright and shiny-new, which is why I'm trying to point out which designs are new. You may care about it a lot less'n me, though. (Ferrosol, I'm not trying to single you out by putting the explanation for why I dislike new designs on your 'Mech - I just really liked your fluff, which is what made me want to expand on my thoughts here is all.) DS10 is a flashbulb - all energy weapons. When this light shines you'll see it from a long ways away! Not many heat sinks, meaning it's going to run really fuckin' hot in an extended engagement - which, to be fair, is sort of the point. At only 4/6 I don't know if it's fast enough to engage in the sort of hit-and-run attacks that its heat scale would seem to demand, and I don't think it's quite well-armored enough to stand up and slug it out, either. At least if some of its heat sinks were in the legs you could have it stand in a pond and fire all day erry day... New Design. DS11 is an artillery piece; 75 tons, uses the HVAC/10's surprisingly long range to its advantage; the use of both Acid Rounds and Guided Rounds give it a lot of tactical flexibility, and it has heat sinks in the legs, which I approve of.  Maybe a little crunchy but fairly cheap for a 75-tonner. Fun little design. New design.DS12 is a beefed-up Dragon, that most Kuritan of 'Mechs. Lots of heat sinks, and weaponry based around the Heavy PPC and a panoply of short-range weapons. I really quite like it, though it doesn't say "integration of two former foes" to me as much as it says "the Davions throwing the Kuritans a symbolic sop." DS13 is a new design (boo) but it has a head-mounted laser (yay!) and at only 40 tons, is to the Heavy PPC as the Hollander is to the Gauss Rifle - namely, a gun with a minimal 'Mech attached to move it around. Well, not quite like the Hollander; this 'Mech also has secondary armament, so there's that. Neat little guy, and cheap, too! DS14 is a refitted Jagermech, which is one of the all-time classics, and one of House Davion's favorites. It is aggressively suboptimal, with too little ammo, heat sinks, and armor, and it would be a hoot and a half to play. DS15 is a refit Shadow Hawk with, I've gotta say, some of the best fluff of the contest. Using a common 'Mech chassis and taking advantage of the new tech to create something a little more comparable to a Griffin or a bigger Panther is no mean feat; the Shadow Hawk has always been something of an also-ran design, as most players will prefer other 'Mechs of the same weight, but this design looks like it could bring it to prominence again. Leg-mounted ammo is a bummer, though. DS16 is a lot like DS13, only based around the new HVAC/10 instead of the HVPPC (which is what I will be calling the Heavy PPC from now on to save on keystrokes). Head-mounted ammo is a drawback, and it's very heavy on ammo, carrying enough shots for a much longer engagement than it could probably survive in. New design. DS17 is a new design, though one pretty comparable to the Warhammer. It's slow, fragile, and hot, but the two HVPPCs will erase almost anything that gets in front of it. Very much a "Die Gloriously For The DS18 is a new design that doesn't lose points in my book because it's at least based on an older design, being a scaled-up Rifleman (though the Gunslinger was a post-Clan Invasion design, so this could be a case of "let's take a later design and come up with ways to have it appear earlier" too). Not much to say - it's a solid long-range striker that can use the new Guided ammo to wreck someone's day. DS19 is another new-design-that-isn't, being based on the Dragon. Sharing a designer with DS18, the two 'Mechs are built to complement one another pretty well. Very solid redesign; I'd enjoy playing one of these. DS20 is a new design, but a pretty solid one; my only concern is the one PTN raises, namely that it uses only Guided ammo for its HVAC/10. Without a spotter, one cannot use indirect fire, so the fact that it doesn't pack any standard HVAC ammo is a drawback. Solid long-range fire platform, though; I'd hate to fight a competent Lance that had one of these in it. DS21 is a new design, a 100-ton Assault that will gently caress up anyone's day. Simple, clean design, and the designation of "Aggressor" really fits; this is a 'Mech for attacking, not defending. Could probably use hands, though. DS22 is another Battlemaster revamp; not a lot to say about this one, it's a standard "Use the big gun (HVAC/10 in this case) to punch holes then use everything else to deal crits" configuration. A workhorse. DS23 is an underarmored gun platform for the HVAC/10, using only guided ammo; it's pretty clearly designed to be used in concert with spotter 'Mechs, and since it's only 40 tons you can field more of them than you could a bigger bombardier like DS20. Only 2 jumping movement, though? Why? Why would you ever want to jump 2? New design. DS24 is a non-Goon entry, a different Gunslinger than DS18 (and this one seems to be more directly based on the 'canon' Gunslinger design). With an HVAC/10 and a Gauss Rifle it will hurt people, and unlike PTN I kinda like the head-mounted Flamer, if only for style points. I actually really quite like this design. DS25 is another unGoon design, a new one, and puts its HVPPC in a torso section for greater protection - a very rare design choice for this time period. Pretty solid, though I find the serial number a little too cutesy. DS26 is... a fire-support Jenner? Huh, that's new. I don't know if it has the ammo to sustain a dedicated fire-support role, and it has none of the new tech, but major kudos for thinking outside the box! Those flaws are actually discussed and dismissed by the designers in the fluff, too, which is a nice touch; I like to see 'Mechs with flaws that are the result of deliberate design choices instead of just mistakes. DS27 is a Thug refit that ended up getting its own model name, and it's really quite solid save for the head-mounted ammo. 2 HVPPCs to make holes and 3 SRM/6s to exploit them. A good design. DS28 is a new design that PTN calls "a faster, heavier Hunchback," and I can't argue with that choice. Ammo in the legs is a quick way to make your 'Mech fall over and explode, but in a quad 'Mech like this one, legs may well be the only place one has to put stuff! DS29 is another quad; a new design, but a 100 ton Quad is nothing to sneer at. 2 HVPPCs, 2 MLasers, and it can jump. Expensive to build and field, but once it's out on the field it will be an absolute bitch and a half to kill. Any 'new design' demerits are wiped out by the fact that, as far as I can recall, there aren't any 100 ton Quads to base it on. DS30 is a new design with some interesting visuals, and PTN says it'd be a lot like a Victor in play. Some excellent fluff details, too. HVPPC with a very respectable complement of small arms to go with it. ....holy poo poo that's a lot of  . Is there any interest in my doing similar summations for the Capellan 'Mechs (even though you should all be voting for the Pepperpot anyways)?
DivineCoffeeBinge fucked around with this message at 07:29 on Apr 10, 2012 |
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Apr 10, 2012 07:16
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