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Arquinsiel posted:^^^^ It's both. Leftists do that too. And yeah, honestly, if your entire engagement with 40k is screeching about how mad you are that people are painting them in rainbow flag colors then maybe you're not a fan, and I'm gonna need to see some models before I can be convinced you are. The thing with Battletech is that the best and only real reason to use models is because it's fun, and generates interest. I said it a few pages back, but I probably wouldn't be getting stopped every few turns while playing locally to explain the game and what its deal is if we were using buttons. I believe it was Steve Jackson who said it best "Models are unnecessary for any game, but generate interest." and that is uh, in my experience, very true.
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Mar 26, 2023 18:57
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Arquinsiel posted:MekHQ is... extremely complex. It's difficult to actually work out what part of the system is loving you. I recommend trying to work out how to prevent the AI from taking fighters of any kind, since that just results in them doing doughnuts around the map being unable to line up a strafing run while you are unable to actually get them nto range at all.
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Mar 26, 2023 19:07
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TheDiceMustRoll posted:"Models are unnecessary for any game, but generate interest." and that is uh, in my experience, very true. Extremely true for any Star Wars game. The rules might be a good set, but watching clones and battle droids shoot it out while Anakin is charging at a tactical droid puts it over the top. It’s how we get onlookers that turn into players 
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Mar 26, 2023 19:22
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TheDiceMustRoll posted:It's both. Leftists do that too. And yeah, honestly, if your entire engagement with 40k is screeching about how mad you are that people are painting them in rainbow flag colors then maybe you're not a fan, and I'm gonna need to see some models before I can be convinced you are. Steve Jackson is a weird dude, but he's right about that at least. Ogre Designer's Edition was the first one I played, and it resulted in me buying a whole pile of the Pocket Edition to give away to people at cons because it let me show off the really elegant game after hooking them with a pretty display. I also own a stupid number of miniatures for a game I have never played with miniatures, and TBH for Ogre the way infantry work the figures actually just do not make sense to use miniatures for the game. I'm unclear how I'm supposed to fit them into the bases or the GEV-PC without breaking the little pegs, but on the other hand the minis are just way too cute not to buy. Dreamsicle posted:My troubles seem to be sub-optimal company generation and contracts where I'm outnumbered at least two to one. For the former, part of it is lances not really meshing right (I have two missile boats in my heaviest lance for example) but more distressingly is that my lightest lance usually has 6/7 or 7/8 skills which make hitting anything near impossible. This ties with the latter since even though most enemies are vehicles they usually move fast and the numbers mean they can keep whittling my mechs down until they crit me. The latter I think I just need tips on how to deal with a weaker but more numerically superior force (I typically play 2v2 or 4v4 on both tabletop and MegaMek) but the former I'm not sure how to tackle. I'd like to generate the company Mech by Mech but I'm not sure how to do that or if it's even possible.
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Mar 26, 2023 19:34
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a cyborg mug posted:I mean the actual rules say you can play with literally anything as long as it has a clear front side. Lego dude Atlas or salt shaker Urbanmech are as valid game pieces as lovingly converted and painted CGL miniatures. If anyone gives you poo poo about having unpainted mechs, point to the official rulebook saying poo poo don’t matter Please don't be a dickhead about proxies or unpainted minis to some poor demo agent running an event (or anyone else running an event, for that matter). We're all volunteers doing it out of a love for the game and being confrontational about whatever requirements might be in place for any given event is one of the fastest ways to strain that.
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Mar 26, 2023 21:03
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I think the reason why Battletech has such a different outlook on miniatures than 40K does is because for the longest time, the game was on life support and there was really only one company even making miniatures (Iron Wind Metals), so if you wanted to play X Design and couldn't afford to have a company ship you a specific model (Because good luck finding any at a local gaming store unless you're in a big city), you really had no other choice than to either use a proxy or find a way to 3D Print one yourself. When you are lucky enough to have maybe one model of a particular design, you tend to not get super picky about whether that designs is painted up in the 'right' colors for your unit, especially if you're just playing a game on short notice. I personally am not gonna care if your Kuritan Shadow Hawk is painted up in Famous Marik Unit Parade Colors or if you're using a Mad Cat as a stand in for a Rakshasa because you don't have a Rakshasa for your IS vs IS game and you need something similar looking so you can play pretend.
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Mar 26, 2023 21:38
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I think while that's a part of it, the fact that three of the initial four intro box sets were cardboard counters only (as well as the first big sequel box and two boxes specifically made just to add more cardboard counters) certainly reinforced the idea that improvisation was totally fine and minis entirely optional.
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Mar 26, 2023 22:27
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Plus one of the box sets literally coming with over-sized model kits to build and the sheer number of variants per chassis means that WYSIWYG gaming is basically impossible anyway.
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Mar 26, 2023 22:29
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The other thing to take into consideration is that if you wanted to get angry at people over miniatures, Battletech has basically the worst production history imaginable for that debate. Like, I'm sure a lot of people got into Battletech with the Clan Invasion Kickstarter and the AGOAC box, but high quality plastic miniatures are the exception in the history of Battletech, not the norm. I've been playing Battletech for a long rear end loving time, so I have a handful of random 90s plastics, a bunch of metals from different eras that never quite look the same scale, a whole bunch of 00s plastics from the starter set, a 2010s Alpha Strike lance with slightly better plastics than the starter set, and of course modern plastics. They all vaguely look like they're from the same universe and game, but even the hexes are all over the place in dimensions. Some are wide and stretched out, some more square, some barely visible under the mech's feet, others twice the width of the model. All of them are official releases, though, and just as canon to Battletech gameplay as any other mech released has ever been. They could all be painted, but they're not going to look unified. I'm sure there's some lunatic out there still running Plastech mechs when he needs to because that's what he has ready to put onto the table. What are you going to do, scold a guy for using models that accurately represent his forces?
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Mar 27, 2023 00:42
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Why you gotta call me out like that? I put a lot of work into unfucking that Valkyrie! This is a lie, I don't think I have actually ever fielded a PlasTech figure despite owning several and spending way too long fixing them up 
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Mar 27, 2023 01:16
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TheDiceMustRoll posted:They're not? Are you saying that the 3025 forever, "no change allowed" crowd are autistic? Kindly refer to the post where I helpfully bolded all the popular stereotypes of autism in your OP lol
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Mar 27, 2023 01:59
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Kesper North posted:Kindly refer to the post where I helpfully bolded all the popular stereotypes of autism in your OP lol Stop trying to manufacture drama. You're being obtuse just to start poo poo.
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Mar 27, 2023 02:10
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Defiance Industries posted:Stop trying to manufacture drama. You're being obtuse just to start poo poo. Allistics, I swear to loving god. I'm not being obtuse, dude straight up didn't read my posts, that's obtuse. I'm also not trying to start drama, I'm trying to get people to realize that they're bagging on a minority of which I am a part, and it's offensive as gently caress. Also that they're just going to have to accept that there's a lot of autistic people in this hobby, and it'll be easier for them to cope with if they learn a thing or two about why autistic people are what they are and what makes them tick rather than prejudging them and complaining.
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Mar 27, 2023 02:23
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Arquinsiel posted:Ah, so that problem is caused by you assuming that MekHQ does all the work for you, while you need to do some of it yourself. The process there is to design your starting company with whatever skills you want/roll for pilots, and then add them all to the unit roster while in "GM Mode". There's a lot of points you may need to tweak stuff so that button will help you actually complete a single battle. Ah thanks, I used the company generator and modify the low gunnery pilots to a minimum of 5 via GM Mode. For mechs that are bad fits, is there a GM tool to replace them? I know I can add Mechs from the market. Dreamsicle fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Mar 27, 2023 |
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Mar 27, 2023 03:34
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Dreamsicle posted:Ah thanks, I used the company generator and modify the low gunnery pilots to a minimum of 5 via GM Mode. For mechs that are bad fits, is there a GM tool to replace them? I know I can add Mechs from the market.
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Mar 27, 2023 03:55
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Just got back from Adepticon. It was a very BattleTech con. Apparently they're saying it's likely to overtake Origins as the #2 con for them in terms of investment, the response has been so immense
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Mar 27, 2023 04:17
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Grindr partrnership?
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Mar 27, 2023 04:38
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I picked up a couple of Ironwind mechs while traveling for work a few weeks ago; an Enfield and a Thunderbolt 10M, with the former being a substantially older sculpt. It's weirdly proportioned and is a medium mech that I'd chunkier than a lot of CGL heavies. Meanwhile the T-bolt feels delicate but at least has a dynamic pose instead of the weird locked knees of the Enfield. It's been a long time since I worked on a metal miniature, that's for sure. I opted into Warhammer as a kid because more people were playing it where I grew up. I also remember being kinda put off by how awkward some of the Battletech sculpts looked. I can see how folks look on them today with fondness because they do have a charm all their own but at the time they did nothing for me.
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Mar 27, 2023 10:15
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Are there modern sculpts of the various Ostmechs? e: aw man, they just look kind of...normal 
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Mar 27, 2023 12:55
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Fearless posted:I picked up a couple of Ironwind mechs while traveling for work a few weeks ago; an Enfield and a Thunderbolt 10M, with the former being a substantially older sculpt. It's weirdly proportioned and is a medium mech that I'd chunkier than a lot of CGL heavies. Meanwhile the T-bolt feels delicate but at least has a dynamic pose instead of the weird locked knees of the Enfield. It's been a long time since I worked on a metal miniature, that's for sure.
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Mar 27, 2023 14:40
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Arquinsiel posted:Steve Jackson is a weird dude, but he's right about that at least. Ogre Designer's Edition was the first one I played, and it resulted in me buying a whole pile of the Pocket Edition to give away to people at cons because it let me show off the really elegant game after hooking them with a pretty display. I also own a stupid number of miniatures for a game I have never played with miniatures, and TBH for Ogre the way infantry work the figures actually just do not make sense to use miniatures for the game. I'm unclear how I'm supposed to fit them into the bases or the GEV-PC without breaking the little pegs, but on the other hand the minis are just way too cute not to buy. I'm still mad that Steve Jackson never embraced minis for Car Wars. (and everything else that eventually sunk Car Wars). Some friends and I built 9X scaled up cars, turn counters, weapon markers, etc. and used to have duels in the yard. We would get model cars, slap them together, add gun barrels and rockets and have a blast. I'd let the yard grow taller than normal, then use the mower to make the track. It worked really well.
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Mar 27, 2023 15:59
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PhotoKirk posted:I'm still mad that Steve Jackson never embraced minis for Car Wars. (and everything else that eventually sunk Car Wars). Some friends and I built 9X scaled up cars, turn counters, weapon markers, etc. and used to have duels in the yard. We would get model cars, slap them together, add gun barrels and rockets and have a blast. I'd let the yard grow taller than normal, then use the mower to make the track. It worked really well. Isn't there a Car Wars that someone developed with Hot Wheels scale in mind? Can't remember the name of it, but I wonder if that approaches the janky crunchiness that (for me) made Car Wars and Battletech so great.
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Mar 27, 2023 16:31
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Finster Dexter posted:Isn't there a Car Wars that someone developed with Hot Wheels scale in mind? Can't remember the name of it, but I wonder if that approaches the janky crunchiness that (for me) made Car Wars and Battletech so great. There’s Gas Lands but having never played either I don’t know if this is what you’re referring to
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Mar 27, 2023 16:37
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Dr. Lunchables posted:There’s Gas Lands but having never played either I don’t know if this is what you’re referring to It’s Gas Lands. It has the specific Hot Wheels scale etc
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Mar 27, 2023 16:39
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PhotoKirk posted:I'm still mad that Steve Jackson never embraced minis for Car Wars. (and everything else that eventually sunk Car Wars). Some friends and I built 9X scaled up cars, turn counters, weapon markers, etc. and used to have duels in the yard. We would get model cars, slap them together, add gun barrels and rockets and have a blast. I'd let the yard grow taller than normal, then use the mower to make the track. It worked really well. 
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Mar 27, 2023 17:48
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Kesper North posted:Allistics, I swear to loving god. I've sent you a PM, Kesper, and we can talk at length if you like. However, I believe you've made your points in the thread and we can leave this be for now, thanks.
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Mar 27, 2023 22:41
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Finster Dexter posted:Isn't there a Car Wars that someone developed with Hot Wheels scale in mind? Can't remember the name of it, but I wonder if that approaches the janky crunchiness that (for me) made Car Wars and Battletech so great. Games workshop had one a long time ago but I think they got sued over it? Also car wars did have done metal ones decades ago but the scale seems too small for the cars and not long for the weapons to made them distinct enough.
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Mar 27, 2023 22:52
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As Arquinsiel posted, they just relaunched car wars last year with a minis line. I don't know if it's any good, literally nobody talks about it.
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Mar 27, 2023 23:02
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I tried playing it a while prior to the most recent release but the rulebook was painfully old style and it wasn't really possible for me to work out what I would even want to do with whatever brainpower I had available at the time.
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Mar 27, 2023 23:03
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Arquinsiel posted:That Thunderbolt is a comparatively new sculpt. I'm pretty sure the Enfield is not super high on anyone's list of favourite designs, even if the miniature is a poor realisation of the already not super distinct artwork. Yep, I knew that the Thunderbolt was a much newer sculpt, but I think it's fair to say that the various minis for Battletech have come a long, long way over the past decade or so. I really like the Enfield in concept but boy howdy I wish I had taken a closer look at that blister before I bought it but in my defence that area of the store was poorly lit and my eyes ain't great to begin with. In other news, I finished another 'mech. It's a medium this time, proving that I don't just collect and paint assault mechs.    GRF-2N, this one a 3d print from Defiance Industries on Etsy.
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Mar 27, 2023 23:34
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My son discovered the Arrow IV while flipping through the Battlemech Manual last night. He spent the rest of the evening cackling at the idea that you could send out the worst mech pilots and still hit on a 4+ regardless.
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Mar 28, 2023 00:11
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Comstar posted:Games workshop had one a long time ago but I think they got sued over it? Dark Future was GW's 1:72 scale (which....why) Car Wars game. There was no lawsuit, they just didn't support it, like AT ALL. They didn't see a way to monetize it like Warhammer. I've never seen that Gaslands one before; it looks pretty nifty. The minis in that Car Wars set look like rear end.
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Mar 28, 2023 00:30
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Atlas Hugged posted:My son discovered the Arrow IV while flipping through the Battlemech Manual last night. He spent the rest of the evening cackling at the idea that you could send out the worst mech pilots and still hit on a 4+ regardless. Well, hit SOMETHING. Scatter's a bitch especially when you don't have the blast radius of a Long Tom to keep it fuzzy.
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Mar 28, 2023 02:04
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Fearless posted:Yep, I knew that the Thunderbolt was a much newer sculpt, but I think it's fair to say that the various minis for Battletech have come a long, long way over the past decade or so. I really like the Enfield in concept but boy howdy I wish I had taken a closer look at that blister before I bought it but in my defence that area of the store was poorly lit and my eyes ain't great to begin with.
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Mar 28, 2023 02:11
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I hadn’t heard of the Enfield before and checked it out. Funny that a mech that was described as not particularly distintictive here was intended to be a replacement of the Wyvern, literally the least exciting mech design of all time: ”a dude” I wonder if CGL will tackle the Wyvern one at some point.
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Mar 28, 2023 06:17
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Strobe posted:Please don't be a dickhead about proxies or unpainted minis to some poor demo agent running an event (or anyone else running an event, for that matter). We're all volunteers doing it out of a love for the game and being confrontational about whatever requirements might be in place for any given event is one of the fastest ways to strain that. I meant random pickup games at your local gaming store or club or whatever and intended the post to be somewhat humorous in tone but just sounded like a dickhead, sorry. Explicitly stated requirements for painted miniatures for an event are a different matter entirely, of course.
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Mar 28, 2023 06:20
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I have theae classic minis: 1. Wolverine 2. Griffin 3. Shadowhawk 4. Wasp My goal is to put together a mercenary company game to teach my nephews and brother how to play Battletech. I assume we will run Alphastrike because the boys are 11 and 10. My goal is to start the campaign in 3025 4th succession war, as a Calvary lance that gets hired to protect a backwater world/planetary government while the frontline troops are deployed to the main campaign. Anyways I am thinking they start with the most basic version of the mechs and then have to learn the game design as they modify the mechs to make them more effective. Or do you recommend I give them a more capable common variant? Next question, obviously they have a scout mech covered but having 3 55 ton cavalry mechs sort of means they will need to be modified to fill a different roles. This might make teaching the basic tactics easier if each is better specialized. Each mech has 152 pts 9.5 tons of armor and 12 heat sinks. 5/8/5 for the Griffin and Wolverine and 5/8/3 for the Shadowhawk. So maybe I turn the Shadowhawk into the "Brawler/Battle line" to fulfill the tank role, strip the jump jets armor up etc. Wolverine becomes the backstabber, with the Marik variant, but drops a medium laser for 2 flamers. Since I have the LAM booster/jet parts I think turning the Griffin into a LAM eventually would be fun. I would keep it as the long range sniper to start. Anyways if you have suggestions to go with either base model, house variants or customized mechs to encourage learning the game let me know. 
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Mar 28, 2023 06:43
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My go-to scenario to introduce people to the game is to put two smaller units up against a Victor with preexisting damage on the AC/20 side. I assume it doesn't translate to alpha strike because there's no facing and no hit locations, but it still makes the point that a larger unit can be brought down by exploiting a mismatch in range or mobility.
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Mar 28, 2023 08:13
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I would avoid vehicle construction if you're playing Alpha Strike as the effort to learn those mechanics doesn't have the same payoff in Alpha Strike as it does in CBT. All of the equipment and weapons amount to 1-6 damage, 0-2 OV, and a couple of keywords. It's one of the bigger downsides to using that ruleset.
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Mar 28, 2023 08:15
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You might want to take a closer look at the Alpha Strike rules, if modifying ‘Mechs is part of what you and your family are looking to enjoy. AS tends to give a lot of ‘Mechs the same stats if their loadouts aren’t really that different from each other. Individual weapons are no longer tracked, it’s just one damage stat for Short, Medium and Long respectively. However on the other side of the spectrum, with regular BattleTech rules the 3025 55-tonners are going to struggle to do damage and keep the play time under 3-4 hours. I think the thread can answer your questions about what kind of game would suit both your desire for detail combined with your need to keep the game progressing quickly and the family’s attention span on.
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Mar 28, 2023 08:27
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