Battletech: Clan Wolf is "Licensed to il"

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Battletech: Clan Wolf is "Licensed to il"

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Atlas Hugged: Mar 12, 2007; Put your arms around me,
fiddly digits, itchy britches
I love you all

I just buy the mechs that I think look cool.

# ? Sep 1, 2021 05:55

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# ? May 31, 2024 21:07

PoptartsNinja: May 9, 2008; He is still almost definitely not a spy; Soiled Meat

Defiance Industries posted:

Or you end up like me and decide that your goal is to field the entire 2nd Donegal Guards RCT.

And then you go crazy trying to field every known canonical iteration of the unit throughout its entire history.

# ? Sep 1, 2021 05:57

TheKingslayer: Sep 3, 2008

All I need is The Steiner Scout Lance.

# ? Sep 1, 2021 06:05

Strobe: Jun 30, 2014; GW BRAINWORMS CREW

TheKingslayer posted:

All I need is The Steiner Scout Lance.

Second only to the UrbanMech this is the meme that makes me tiredest. Steiner has a kick rear end collection of Lights and Mediums. Uziels for life.

# ? Sep 1, 2021 06:18

TheKingslayer: Sep 3, 2008

Strobe posted:

Second only to the UrbanMech this is the meme that makes me tiredest. Steiner has a kick rear end collection of Lights and Mediums. Uziels for life.

Absolutely. But I adore the Atlas so it's still funny to me

# ? Sep 1, 2021 06:26

Sidesaddle Cavalry: Mar 15, 2013; Oh Boy Desert Map

PoptartsNinja posted:

That's why I got into GMing games of Alpha Strike IRL. Minimal time commitment, lots of 'mechs to move, and I've been having fun losing BattleTech online for a decade so it's no problem at all for me to lose in person from time to time to help a few people have a fun evening.

You GM games of Alpha Strike and people actually enjoy them? How do you do it?????

AS has always seemed like a diluted experience in my never-wanna-try-it eyes.

# ? Sep 1, 2021 06:32

Strobe: Jun 30, 2014; GW BRAINWORMS CREW

Sidesaddle Cavalry posted:

You GM games of Alpha Strike and people actually enjoy them? How do you do it?????

AS has always seemed like a diluted experience in my never-wanna-try-it eyes.

You do it by smashing companies into each other, finishing the game, and then deciding to play another one from scratch before your buddies on the next table over finish their 4v4 game.

# ? Sep 1, 2021 06:34

Defiance Industries: Jul 22, 2010; A five-star manufacturer

PoptartsNinja posted:

And then you go crazy trying to field every known canonical iteration of the unit throughout its entire history.

Yeah, if they ever introduce pre-Age of War tanks I'm gonna have to make the 11th Terran Rangers too. Which, if they're anything like the 1st Donegal Guards, was a regiment of tanks and eleven regiments of infantry.

Strobe posted:

Second only to the UrbanMech this is the meme that makes me tiredest. Steiner has a kick rear end collection of Lights and Mediums. Uziels for life.

It's a 30-year psi op we've been doing to great success. Always catches them with their pants down when you carve someone up with a Blitzkrieg.

# ? Sep 1, 2021 06:37

Strobe: Jun 30, 2014; GW BRAINWORMS CREW

Defiance Industries posted:

It's a 30-year psi op we've been doing to great success. Always catches them with their pants down when you carve someone up with a Blitzkrieg.

I get it, Mariks haven't had Assault 'Mechs for just as long and seeing someone run into a Juliano for first time is delightful

# ? Sep 1, 2021 06:52

PoptartsNinja: May 9, 2008; He is still almost definitely not a spy; Soiled Meat

Sidesaddle Cavalry posted:

You GM games of Alpha Strike and people actually enjoy them? How do you do it?????

AS has always seemed like a diluted experience in my never-wanna-try-it eyes.

The first trick is understanding that Alpha Strike was built as a game first and foremost, it's simultaneously better balanced than classic and faster to play, which has its appeal when you give each player a lance rather than a single 'Mech and pit them against a company (or larger)-sized OpForce. It makes it harder for a single bad roll to eliminate any single player from play (only bad play will do that) which means nobody gets stuck standing around doing nothing even if they lose a 'Mech early.

The second trick is to bring in a management aspect. I printed off tiny pilot cards with their stats and a little black and white 'mugshot' photo, gave them all unique names and callsigns, and let them gain experience over time--with the caveat that they had to rest every two missions. Every pilot got 1 xp per training session (which they had to do in liu of missions), and in-mission the players got to vote for one pilot / 'Mech per lance as an MVP who got an XP. That resulted in a roster that saw a lot of rotation as pilots were sent to training (so they could learn an SPA) and really good pilots got left in reserve for missions "where they were really needed." So, rather than managing one 'Mech, the players got to manage their pilots instead, which they had a lot of fun with. You could do the same thing in BattleTech, of course, but it's perfect for adding a little extra spice to a team of mercenaries with a big roster. I also brought in a salvage aspect (destroying an enemy 'Mech would leave the players with a [weight class] salvage, 3 salvage of the same weight class would let them salvage any 'Mech of that weight class that they'd previously killed and then wipe the board clean). They could also use salvage to quick-repair a 'Mech that had taken structure damage.

The third trick is to blanket ban Terrain Master: Forest because it's the most broken SPA. Absolutely toxic nonsense garbage. It would be good even if all it did was reduce the MP cost for woods, but giving an extra +1 ToHit penalty for standing in any form of woods is bonkers. My players started calling it "Forest Ninja," it's hideously broken, and that's even comparing it to the incredibly powerful Range Master: Medium.

The forth trick is to keep playing on hexes. You've gotta divide Alpha Strike movement by 2, but it's pretty fair. It basically amounts to 'Mechs that always move at their walking speed (unless they have MASC or a Supercharger) but don't pay MP to turn. If you're looking to speed up normal BattleTech without losing any of the actual crunch, this is the rule to steal. It essentially works like everyone's using jump jets all the time but still pays the extra MP for terrain / elevation changes).

Alpha Strike is secretly good because:
'Mechs that are lead balloons in standard play (like the oft-maligned JagerMech) are often solid performers in Alpha Strike. The Shadow Hawk compares favorably to both the Griffin and the Wolverine, even though both the Griffin and Wolverine will rip a Shadow Hawk apart in standard BattleTech. Likewise, the structure nerfs Clan 'mechs eat (endo-steel and XL engines both reduce durability in Alpha Strike) means even the Clans are manageable to fight and fight against. They trade structure for speed and damage in a way that's actually enjoyable and turns the game into an exercise in asymmetric warfare where IS forces will likely have the numbers to win if the Clans don't score a few key knockouts right away. The Clans are still playing rocket tag of course, but often times their damage is so high it's outright wasteful while still not being quite high enough to one-shot their (usually significantly tougher) Inner Sphere targets. If you can kill your target in two turns, it doesn't matter if you're doing 3-4 damage/turn or 5-7 damage/turn, any extra damage you deal is wasted.

For example: assuming all parties hit every shot they make and nobody eats an unlucky critical hit, 2 JM6-S JagerMechs or 3 PNT-9R Panthers can kill a Mad Cat Prime before the Mad Cat can kill more than one of them in return, which is pretty fair considering they've got comparable BV (52 for the twin Jags, 57 for the Panther trio, 54 for the Mad Cat Prime). In that exchange the Mad Cat will kill precisely one JagerMech and precisely one Panther before the others outright kill it (taking no damage in the process because the Mad Cat has to waste a turn doing only a portion of its damage to finish off a wounded target). Making the same assumptions (all shots hit, nothing crits), two Panthers will trade evenly with the Mad Cat Prime (the Mad Cat will get both of them, but die in the process). Not bad for two 'mechs that are considered some of the worst of the 3025 era, and absolutely not what would likely happen in standard BattleTech (the Mad Cat would eat those Panthers and JagerMechs alive)

Some things do remain a constant, though! Even in Alpha Strike, the Cicada's still hot garbage. :haw:

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 08:39 on Sep 1, 2021

# ? Sep 1, 2021 08:33

Taerkar: Dec 7, 2002; kind of into it, really

Gm play also can keep things running smoother if they don't run the game as a deathmatch and instead start having crippled units retreat. For a continuous campaign the players may be encouraged to already to preserve guys, but for a one off you can use retreating as a way to preserve points and deny your opponent the kill.

While two badly battered mechs trying to kill each other ineffectually can be amusing it can also really drag out a turn.

# ? Sep 1, 2021 13:25

Virtual Russian: Sep 15, 2008

Atlas Hugged posted:

I just buy the mechs that I think look cool.

same, "here is my lance of sick mercs"

# ? Sep 1, 2021 13:49

PeterWeller: Apr 21, 2003; I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

I just get the mechs copied from anime and paint them up as Crescent Hawks because I like to pretend it's still 1990 when I play.

# ? Sep 1, 2021 15:13

Atlas Hugged: Mar 12, 2007; Put your arms around me,
fiddly digits, itchy britches
I love you all

PeterWeller posted:

I just get the mechs copied from anime and paint them up as Crescent Hawks because I like to pretend it's still 1990 when I play.

I can still hear that voice say, "Infocom presents: the Crescent Hawks' Revenge."

# ? Sep 1, 2021 15:17

Jobbo_Fett: Mar 7, 2014; Slava Ukrayini; Clapping Larry

Finally.

Edit

Randoms: Hellbringer, Ice Ferret, Stormcrow, Viper, Greyson Death Carlyle (Marauder), Natasha Kerensky (Dire Wolf)

Jobbo_Fett fucked around with this message at 21:52 on Sep 1, 2021

# ? Sep 1, 2021 21:14

I said come in!: Jun 22, 2004

lol im finally getting my wave 2 Battletech stuff.

# ? Sep 2, 2021 00:13

Sidesaddle Cavalry: Mar 15, 2013; Oh Boy Desert Map

Jobbo_Fett posted:

Randoms: Hellbringer, Ice Ferret, Stormcrow, Viper, Greyson Death Carlyle (Marauder), Natasha Kerensky (Dire Wolf)

did you enjoy the thrill of BattleMech Miniature Gashapon

# ? Sep 2, 2021 00:20

Jobbo_Fett: Mar 7, 2014; Slava Ukrayini; Clapping Larry

Sidesaddle Cavalry posted:

did you enjoy the thrill of BattleMech Miniature Gashapon

I went in expecting nothing, and now I have a bunch of cards that need sleeves.

Why am I so itchy all of a sudden?

# ? Sep 2, 2021 00:21

Weissritter: Jun 14, 2012

PoptartsNinja posted:

The first trick is understanding that Alpha Strike was built as a game first and foremost, it's simultaneously better balanced than classic and faster to play, which has its appeal when you give each player a lance rather than a single 'Mech and pit them against a company (or larger)-sized OpForce. It makes it harder for a single bad roll to eliminate any single player from play (only bad play will do that) which means nobody gets stuck standing around doing nothing even if they lose a 'Mech early.

The second trick is to bring in a management aspect. I printed off tiny pilot cards with their stats and a little black and white 'mugshot' photo, gave them all unique names and callsigns, and let them gain experience over time--with the caveat that they had to rest every two missions. Every pilot got 1 xp per training session (which they had to do in liu of missions), and in-mission the players got to vote for one pilot / 'Mech per lance as an MVP who got an XP. That resulted in a roster that saw a lot of rotation as pilots were sent to training (so they could learn an SPA) and really good pilots got left in reserve for missions "where they were really needed." So, rather than managing one 'Mech, the players got to manage their pilots instead, which they had a lot of fun with. You could do the same thing in BattleTech, of course, but it's perfect for adding a little extra spice to a team of mercenaries with a big roster. I also brought in a salvage aspect (destroying an enemy 'Mech would leave the players with a [weight class] salvage, 3 salvage of the same weight class would let them salvage any 'Mech of that weight class that they'd previously killed and then wipe the board clean). They could also use salvage to quick-repair a 'Mech that had taken structure damage.

The third trick is to blanket ban Terrain Master: Forest because it's the most broken SPA. Absolutely toxic nonsense garbage. It would be good even if all it did was reduce the MP cost for woods, but giving an extra +1 ToHit penalty for standing in any form of woods is bonkers. My players started calling it "Forest Ninja," it's hideously broken, and that's even comparing it to the incredibly powerful Range Master: Medium.

The forth trick is to keep playing on hexes. You've gotta divide Alpha Strike movement by 2, but it's pretty fair. It basically amounts to 'Mechs that always move at their walking speed (unless they have MASC or a Supercharger) but don't pay MP to turn. If you're looking to speed up normal BattleTech without losing any of the actual crunch, this is the rule to steal. It essentially works like everyone's using jump jets all the time but still pays the extra MP for terrain / elevation changes).

Alpha Strike is secretly good because:
'Mechs that are lead balloons in standard play (like the oft-maligned JagerMech) are often solid performers in Alpha Strike. The Shadow Hawk compares favorably to both the Griffin and the Wolverine, even though both the Griffin and Wolverine will rip a Shadow Hawk apart in standard BattleTech. Likewise, the structure nerfs Clan 'mechs eat (endo-steel and XL engines both reduce durability in Alpha Strike) means even the Clans are manageable to fight and fight against. They trade structure for speed and damage in a way that's actually enjoyable and turns the game into an exercise in asymmetric warfare where IS forces will likely have the numbers to win if the Clans don't score a few key knockouts right away. The Clans are still playing rocket tag of course, but often times their damage is so high it's outright wasteful while still not being quite high enough to one-shot their (usually significantly tougher) Inner Sphere targets. If you can kill your target in two turns, it doesn't matter if you're doing 3-4 damage/turn or 5-7 damage/turn, any extra damage you deal is wasted.

For example: assuming all parties hit every shot they make and nobody eats an unlucky critical hit, 2 JM6-S JagerMechs or 3 PNT-9R Panthers can kill a Mad Cat Prime before the Mad Cat can kill more than one of them in return, which is pretty fair considering they've got comparable BV (52 for the twin Jags, 57 for the Panther trio, 54 for the Mad Cat Prime). In that exchange the Mad Cat will kill precisely one JagerMech and precisely one Panther before the others outright kill it (taking no damage in the process because the Mad Cat has to waste a turn doing only a portion of its damage to finish off a wounded target). Making the same assumptions (all shots hit, nothing crits), two Panthers will trade evenly with the Mad Cat Prime (the Mad Cat will get both of them, but die in the process). Not bad for two 'mechs that are considered some of the worst of the 3025 era, and absolutely not what would likely happen in standard BattleTech (the Mad Cat would eat those Panthers and JagerMechs alive)

Some things do remain a constant, though! Even in Alpha Strike, the Cicada's still hot garbage.

I really like this, as I have been running and on-off (once every few months unfortunately) AS campaign with my friends, though we intend to do one more regularly once our wave 2 stuff arrives (asia being one of the last region ugh). You mentioned using salvage to quick repair structural damage - how do you handle other repairs in between missions?

# ? Sep 2, 2021 02:04

Atlas Hugged: Mar 12, 2007; Put your arms around me,
fiddly digits, itchy britches
I love you all

For "fun", I replayed the opening mission of Crescent Hawks' Revenge and oh my word that loving Locust can go gently caress itself. Took me about six tries to chase it off. Then I thought I was doing really well on the second mission. Had the Panther at 30% and the Ostscout at 50%, but the Ostscout managed to get around the Griffin and the Enforcer was busy hounding the Panther and that was it. ALT+F4

# ? Sep 2, 2021 02:07

PoptartsNinja: May 9, 2008; He is still almost definitely not a spy; Soiled Meat

Weissritter posted:

I really like this, as I have been running and on-off (once every few months unfortunately) AS campaign with my friends, though we intend to do one more regularly once our wave 2 stuff arrives (asia being one of the last region ugh). You mentioned using salvage to quick repair structural damage - how do you handle other repairs in between missions?

Armor's free, everything else (criticals, structure damage) either requires the 'Mech to sit out a mission or you can burn a salvage of the appropriate weight class to get it back immediately.

I also tend to put objective markers down on the map for players to contest that contain an extra piece of salvage, or a "counts as having seen a [rare 'Mech]" that the players can add to their "kill sheet" that they can burn salvage to build. For example: one of my players absolutely loves the Black Knight, and another absolutely loves the Grasshopper, so I tend to use a difficult-to-capture objective marker to offer them a roll on a random table containing their favorites and some other decent 'Mechs I think the players will like--and usually a single "complete lemon in standard play but surprisingly useful in Alpha Strike" machine like a Clint or a SHD-2D2 Shadow Hawk.

Something they'd probably never consider making on their own but might rebuild just because I threw it into the special 'Mech list and having spare 'Mechs is really helpful when some of them have to sit out.

I also let them pick up tanks the same way, just with vehicle salvage instead (and special 'vehicle commander' pilots who can't drive 'Mechs).

# ? Sep 2, 2021 02:28

PeterWeller: Apr 21, 2003; I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

Atlas Hugged posted:

For "fun", I replayed the opening mission of Crescent Hawks' Revenge and oh my word that loving Locust can go gently caress itself. Took me about six tries to chase it off. Then I thought I was doing really well on the second mission. Had the Panther at 30% and the Ostscout at 50%, but the Ostscout managed to get around the Griffin and the Enforcer was busy hounding the Panther and that was it. ALT+F4

Don't meet your heroes. Just paint mechs based on your recollection of their cover art.

# ? Sep 2, 2021 03:08

Weissritter: Jun 14, 2012

I have been using a customised warchest system where they burn supply points to repair/upkeep stuff, but your method sounds very elegant. Do you use the base damage system (all or nothing) or roll dice for each point of damage (I have also seen people use a single 'pilot' dice then roll 1d6 for each damage to see how many go through)?

# ? Sep 2, 2021 03:12

PoptartsNinja: May 9, 2008; He is still almost definitely not a spy; Soiled Meat

Both work, and statistically the TTK is'nt much different. One method just does a lot of chip damage while the other tends to eliminate units quickly when the hits do happen.

I personally prefer the standard style, because it keeps dice rolling to a minimum and lets the game be about positioning and / or taking and holding key pieces of terrain, which is where Alpha Strike shines.

Edit: I should mention: lots of individual rolls also tend to hurt light 'Mechs a bit because they're more likely to take stray hits when a lot of dice are being rolled; but it also keeps the incredibly fragile 1 armor 1 structure fast-movers like the Fireball from being completely eliminated in one shot by a lucky roll. I've done both methods, so I can recommend trying a game in each style and seeing which one you like more.

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Sep 2, 2021

# ? Sep 2, 2021 03:35

Jobbo_Fett: Mar 7, 2014; Slava Ukrayini; Clapping Larry

So uhhh... when are we starting goonhaus with PTN and a bunch of kthers where we play Battletech on live stream all day every day?

# ? Sep 2, 2021 11:20

Count Thrashula: Jun 1, 2003; Death is nothing compared to vindication.; Buglord

Jobbo_Fett posted:

So uhhh... when are we starting goonhaus with PTN and a bunch of kthers where we play Battletech on live stream all day every day?

Can we play ASL too

# ? Sep 2, 2021 12:42

Jobbo_Fett: Mar 7, 2014; Slava Ukrayini; Clapping Larry

No. 1 Juicy Boi posted:

Can we play ASL too

Why would assume otherwise from the most prolific ASL player on these here forums?!

(Also seriously I need someone to teach me how to play Battletech good because I think the video games have hosed me up bad.)

# ? Sep 2, 2021 13:57

Contingency: Jun 2, 2007; MURDERER

I've noticed the spine of the core rulebooks have an old school image of a Mad Cat across them. Does anyone know if the new SO reprint continues the trend, and if the current printing of IO is part of the same sequence?

# ? Sep 3, 2021 04:18

MadDogMike: Apr 9, 2008; Cute but fanged

My order finally arrived; looks like they did include the Wave 1 stuff I didn't get originally, so that's one nervous breakdown averted. My salvage boxes were a Fenris, Koshi, and a Black Hawk for the Clan stuff, which actually works well since most of my existing clan stuff is heavies and assaults since I mostly got them for looks (except for the medium Jade Falcon Nova of Elementals/mechs I keep failing to finish painting) so I can use a few more lighter Clan mechs in my collection. Got Grayson for the legendary, can never have enough Marauders for my tastes definitely. And most importantly I have my Urbie plushie to sit on the shelf in my bedroom to guard my sleep with its derpy charm and massive autocannon. Now to build up the motivation to paint again.

Atlas Hugged posted:

For "fun", I replayed the opening mission of Crescent Hawks' Revenge and oh my word that loving Locust can go gently caress itself. Took me about six tries to chase it off. Then I thought I was doing really well on the second mission. Had the Panther at 30% and the Ostscout at 50%, but the Ostscout managed to get around the Griffin and the Enforcer was busy hounding the Panther and that was it. ALT+F4

I only played Crescent Hawks' Inception back in the day; after the attack I just had no drat idea how to proceed in that game. Then again I've always been terrible at all Battletech video games, so perhaps it's just a pattern that started early.

# ? Sep 3, 2021 21:50

Defiance Industries: Jul 22, 2010; A five-star manufacturer

MadDogMike posted:

I just had no drat idea how to proceed in that game.

Sell all your mechs, buy stocks in Defiance Industries.

Now you're rich. You've won.

# ? Sep 4, 2021 01:43

Airspace: Nov 5, 2010

Stuff came in.

CI Box (Timberwolf, Nova, Grendel, Adder, Executioner)
Clan Command Star (Dire Wolf, Summoner, Stormcrow, Mist Lynx, Shadow Cat)
Inner Sphere Urban Lance (Enforcer, Victor, Raven, Hunchback)

My salvage boxes were an Urbanmech (R36), Executioner, Nova, and Natasha Kerensky's Dire Wolf. All in all, a good haul, though I am now disappointed I did not buy more.

(Yes my salvage boxes were mostly dupes, which is fantastic)

# ? Sep 6, 2021 04:16

Virtual Russian: Sep 15, 2008

Got mine this morning - I'll list it later. I've now got 3 Dire Wolfs and 3 Summoners, plus another pair of doubles. I got the Elite Marauder, I was hoping for the Dire wolf, but the Marauder was my second choice, and considering how many DWs I got I'm pretty happy.

The Nightstar I got might be my favorite looking mech in the bunch.

Virtual Russian fucked around with this message at 08:35 on Sep 6, 2021

# ? Sep 6, 2021 08:32

Xotl: May 28, 2001; Be seeing you.

Contingency posted:

I've noticed the spine of the core rulebooks have an old school image of a Mad Cat across them. Does anyone know if the new SO reprint continues the trend, and if the current printing of IO is part of the same sequence?

Old spine art is:
TW (1st to 4th prints for sure), TM (1st & 2nd prints), TO (single-volume), SO (full-sized), IO, CO (original), AToW

New spine art is:
TW (5th and 6th maybe, 7th+ for sure), TM (3rd+ prints), TO v1, TO v2, SO (shrunken aero edition), CO (expanded revised)

I don't know if the upcoming two-volume split of IO, or the eventual reprint of AToW, will continue the new art.

# ? Sep 6, 2021 18:18

Contingency: Jun 2, 2007; MURDERER

Xotl posted:

Old spine art is:
TW (1st to 4th prints for sure), TM (1st & 2nd prints), TO (single-volume), SO (full-sized), IO, CO (original), AToW

New spine art is:
TW (5th and 6th maybe, 7th+ for sure), TM (3rd+ prints), TO v1, TO v2, SO (shrunken aero edition), CO (expanded revised)

I don't know if the upcoming two-volume split of IO, or the eventual reprint of AToW, will continue the new art.

Thanks! One of the Kickstarter updates had a bookshelf picture with the spine art, but it wasn't high enough quality to read the titles. There were six books depicted, and if SO:AAR is one of them, I'll wait on the IO revamp.

# ? Sep 7, 2021 16:07

DrPop: Aug 22, 2004

Anyone else still waiting for their wave 2 stuff to ship? I'm in the US and getting antsy.

# ? Sep 9, 2021 15:07

I said come in!: Jun 22, 2004

DrPop posted:

Anyone else still waiting for their wave 2 stuff to ship? I'm in the US and getting antsy.

I poo poo talked FedEx a lot last year, and I don't think they forgot, because they keep delaying my delivery date. I should get it on Monday, but right now it's still stuck on the east coast somewhere.

# ? Sep 9, 2021 15:37

Taerkar: Dec 7, 2002; kind of into it, really

DrPop posted:

Anyone else still waiting for their wave 2 stuff to ship? I'm in the US and getting antsy.

I haven't heard anything either and between this and being on the evga waiting list I'm checking my email almost instantly after getting a notification of something new.

It's mostly spam.

# ? Sep 9, 2021 15:47