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Kosmonaut posted:I'd say it's about time, except I'm pretty sure they're married to that Dark Age bullshit. There's still a rather vaguely-fleshed out 50-year period to deal with that includes, among other things, hunting down Manei Domini holdouts, the Capellan Confederation taking on the Republic and FS, and other brushfire wars. And even then, I get the feeling they'd put less of a spotlight on the "splinter factions fighting each other in gas-powered garbage-mechs" stuff and more on the "resurgent clans Wolf and Jade Falcon beat the poo poo out of the Lyrans and eachother" stuff.
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Jul 22, 2010 04:58
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I dunno, don't the Wolves in the Sphere rename themselves the Steel Wolves or some bullshit like that? I never paid much attention to Dark Age but as far as I know all the invading clans have gone native and merged with IS powers. Then again, as far as I know the Clans back on the Pentagon Worlds are just hanging back and waiting for an excuse to throw the Tukayyid pact and the Trial with Victor Steiner-Davion out the window...
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Jul 22, 2010 05:06
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It depends. Clan Jade Falcon and Vlad's Wolves are more or less the same as they've always been, likewise with the Hell's Horses. The Snow Ravens more or less moved to the Outworld Alliance and said "Hey, we're in charge now. Got a problem with that? Take it up with our warship fleet." and thusly created the Raven Alliance. Ghost Bear pretty much merged with Rasalhague, but aside from leaving the civilian population to their own devices, the warrior caste was still in charge last I remember. The Nova Cats have their enclaves in the Draconis Combine, but I'm not sure if that counts as going any more native than they've already been doing since 3060. The Steel Wolves and Spirit Cats were just splinter factions formed by former clan representatives to the republic, if I recall, and were more or less just rogue galaxies that later got re-absorbed into their parent clans. As for the Homeworld clans, there's been hints dropped throughout the Jihad books that something is happening there. Likewise, a "War of Reaving" keeps being mentioned as one of the next big plots, which is probably related to that. Der Waffle Mous fucked around with this message at 05:40 on Jul 22, 2010 |
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Jul 22, 2010 05:38
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I could go for a war of reaving. Does it involve the other Clans coming over to stomp on the barbarians' gas-powered garbage-mechs a second time? Sign me the gently caress up. If the 3025 purists thought the first Clan invasion was bad, wait til they're facing a force a quarter their size and still getting cored. (jk Clan tech owns but numerical disadvantage is a real bitch) (also MRMs are a real bitch) Kosmonaut fucked around with this message at 13:16 on Jul 22, 2010 |
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Jul 22, 2010 13:14
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The War of Reaving is where the homeworld Clans start turning on each other. About 5 of them end up getting annihilated or absorbed into the remaining ones. That said apparently the Lyran Commonwealth gets curbstomped by multiple clans later on.
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Jul 22, 2010 16:53
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Kosmonaut posted:I could go for a war of reaving. Does it involve the other Clans coming over to stomp on the barbarians' gas-powered garbage-mechs a second time? Sign me the gently caress up. If the 3025 purists thought the first Clan invasion was bad, wait til they're facing a force a quarter their size and still getting cored.
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Jul 22, 2010 19:40
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Really? I ran Clan 'mechs against IS 'mechs with the same BV2 and got my rear end kicked. Maybe it's just me. (Or the fact that the guy I played against was addicted to Gauss and MRMs.)
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Jul 22, 2010 21:07
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Der Waffle Mous posted:That said apparently the Lyran Commonwealth gets curbstomped by multiple clans later on. Good, loving Steiners.
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Jul 22, 2010 23:14
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Kosmonaut posted:Really? I ran Clan 'mechs against IS 'mechs with the same BV2 and got my rear end kicked. Maybe it's just me. (Or the fact that the guy I played against was addicted to Gauss and MRMs.)
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Jul 23, 2010 05:28
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Kosmonaut posted:I could go for a war of reaving. Does it involve the other Clans coming over to stomp on the barbarians' gas-powered garbage-mechs a second time? Sign me the gently caress up. If the 3025 purists thought the first Clan invasion was bad, wait til they're facing a force a quarter their size and still getting cored. Actually, I believe that the Cappellans do that anyway. The fiction for Dark Age has changed as it went along. By the end, it seemed that all of the big factions had full mech regiments again. Hell, the Dragoons had rebuilt 4 mech regiments before they stopped writing the Dark Ages novels. edit: and I mean Battlemechs, not modded Industrial mechs.
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Jul 23, 2010 06:03
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My friend is running a game of this over Skype (!) he's got maps and models on his end, and we (the players) sit in the same room, and have maps and models on our end, so obviously we just communicate to each other what mechs are moving and shooting where and update it on either end. Now, to throw a spanner in the works, I'm heading back to uni, so if I want to continue to play I'll need to join in over Skype too. I however don't have access to maps and models, so basically does anyone have any experience or suggestions for online programs we could maybe use, between me and the GM, to act as a sort of online hex map with mech figures, etc?
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Jul 23, 2010 10:32
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I don't know if it'd suit your needs exactly, but Megamek would work better than maps and skype by a loooong way.
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Jul 23, 2010 12:33
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Arquinsiel posted:Did you adjust for unit size? IIRC the IS player had a full 12 mech company, a company or so of Vedettes, other assorted armour and then about 40 bases of infantry. Totally skewed the numbers so that all his stuff was 4/5 and 5/6 and the Clanners were 1/1/. That almost sounds like luck (or skill) on your part. From sheer massed fire, your opponent should have been able to cripple one Clan mech at least every other turn. You're looking at an easy 25-30 damage a turn from the Vedettes alone there. Was the terrain extremely unfavorable to the IS forces or something? From my own experiences, Clan forces usually get ripped apart by equal BV IS forces under BV2. I find the problem is that many Clan mechs are overvalued, and the extra skill levels are overcome with the edge in numbers.
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Jul 23, 2010 15:25
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Arquinsiel posted:I don't know if it'd suit your needs exactly, but Megamek would work better than maps and skype by a loooong way. Exactly this. I'm not sure why you wouldn't use Megamek under the circumstances you're describing.
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Jul 23, 2010 15:27
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I was actually just watching the game. The IS player had to defend a city and the Vedettes just plain didn't hit for squat since the clanners stayed at long range and kept moving. Another vital part of it was that the infantry were mostly slug-throwers acting as OP's in buildings and they were easily trashed rendering the LRM carriers in the back field pretty much worthless every second turn or so. The difference in to-hit numbers was generally 4-5 IIRC. The Clan player managed to use terrain and movement to get quite a few 13 target numbers (only time he's *EVER* bothered to avoid turret-tech oddly) and the IS players were cautious about leaving the city incase of muggings (they weren't aware at that stage that the Clanner plays strict honour "cartoon villian" strict, and doesn't ever deviate first). It was a long slug-fest but the clanners came out on top by a long way. [EDIT] I should mention that this was on heroscape terrain and the clanners had a few hills and clumps of trees out their way to use to their advantage. There were regular "HIT! Location: leg. God-damned hill." Arquinsiel fucked around with this message at 15:40 on Jul 23, 2010 |
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Jul 23, 2010 15:34
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Arquinsiel posted:I was actually just watching the game. The IS player had to defend a city and the Vedettes just plain didn't hit for squat since the clanners stayed at long range and kept moving. Alright, I'd call it more player mistakes, then. It sounds like the IS players were playing pretty foolishly - either charge or retreat, don't just sit there when you're getting blatantly ranged. (Also the infantry was a poor choice and completely wasted BV given the scenario.) Were they new? I've noticed a lot of newer players are very conservative - they're a lot less willing to take chances than older players are.
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Jul 23, 2010 20:13
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Nope, been playing since Battledroids. I think you need to see the table and the forces involved to understand what was going on, pretty much every unit that broke cover was torn apart instantly. And yes, the infantry was a HUGE waste of BV. I just noticed I said "40 bases of Infantry" earlier. I should have added "per Batallion" but didn't....
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Jul 23, 2010 20:37
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Sounds like the Clan player was just way better than the IS player.
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Jul 24, 2010 00:42
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Kosmonaut posted:Sounds like the Clans are just way better than the IS. Clan Ghost Bear 4 Lyfe 
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Jul 24, 2010 03:40
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Oh hell yeah, Delta Galaxy up in this motherfucker
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Jul 24, 2010 04:11
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Kosmonaut posted:Oh hell yeah, Delta Galaxy up in this motherfucker  Ghost Bear Timberwolves own! and gently caress the IS names for clan mechs. Madcats blow, Timberwolf forever.
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Jul 24, 2010 04:23
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On the other hand, you have the Vulture and Thor, which feel so much more fitting than Mad Dog and Summoner.
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Jul 24, 2010 04:49
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Der Waffle Mous posted:On the other hand, you have the Vulture and Thor, which feel so much more fitting than Mad Dog and Summoner. Sounds like we got us a Freebirth here...
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Jul 24, 2010 04:52
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Error 404 posted:Sounds like we got us a Freebirth here... You have mechs named after totem animals, celestial phenomena, and other mystical things. And then the Mad Dog. Edit: And seriously, I always thought the Summoner looked like a giant walking hammer that happens to shoot lightning. Der Waffle Mous fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Jul 24, 2010 |
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Jul 24, 2010 05:07
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Look I don't care if you think their Kerensky-given names are "fitting" edit: Mad Dog, Delta Galaxy 
Kosmonaut fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Jul 24, 2010 |
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Jul 24, 2010 05:49
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Happiness is a warm Trinary.
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Jul 24, 2010 06:02
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Reading Operation: Klondike. It seems the clans were always pretty infuriating. On one hand, you had some clans led by the remaining members of Alexander's old guard from the SLDF who still had the skills to make it through the trials. These were the guys who had understanding of things like planning ahead and logistics. And then you had their saKhans and other subordinates, who were pretty much all entitled assholes who's understanding of warfare was more or less "Just keep killing things until they stop fighting back, gently caress concepts like tactics and logistics." No wonder they took so many losses (comparatively) from the poorly equipped, poorly trained pentagon world militias. On the plus side, a lot of the better militia leaders ended up in the warrior caste, anyway.
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Jul 24, 2010 06:48
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Yeah, the Clans never had much going for them other than the best equipment, the best training, and the best genes. And the best 'mech names. That's why I used to lose a lot back when I played Battletech -- I tried to fight in character. Strategy? What a barbaric concept! Kosmonaut fucked around with this message at 06:55 on Jul 24, 2010 |
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Jul 24, 2010 06:52
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Kosmonaut posted:Yeah, the Clans never had much going for them other than the best equipment, the best training, and the best genes. gently caress. Yes. Kosmonaut posted:That's why I used to lose a lot back when I played Battletech -- I tried to fight in character. Strategy? What a barbaric concept!   fake edit: although the one time I tried using "sneaky" Spheroid tactics I owned real hard. it was a cobbled together online game, where we could use almost any mix of units, I made a mixed trinary with a scout star of Pack-Hunters. a strike star made up of 3 custom Timberwolves and 2 points of elementals, and an assault star with 3 more timberwolves and 2 dire-wolves. I won against two other players who each had (IS equivalent to trinary), with terrain that favored them.
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Jul 24, 2010 07:50
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My only beef with the T-Wolf is how the Endo Steel is placed. Can't put freezers in the legs, only one slot in the center torso. That and it's got less pod space than a Mad Dog (which I can live with because a Mad Dog can only take a couple solid hits before they start tearing off limbs).
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Jul 24, 2010 08:05
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Kosmonaut posted:My only beef with the T-Wolf is how the Endo Steel is placed. Can't put freezers in the legs, only one slot in the center torso. That and it's got less pod space than a Mad Dog (which I can live with because a Mad Dog can only take a couple solid hits before they start tearing off limbs). which is why, given the choice, I pull everything out of them except 2 Guass in place of missiles, and 2 ER PPCs in the arms, then fill them with armor/engine/ammo. and I used my Dires as missile-boats for long and short pounding. and if you've never seen a packhunter, they're pretty niche but sweet. imagine a Firemoth, but a little faster, mounting only an ER PPC and a little extra armor. now imagine 5 of those running hit-and-fade tactics through forest or other obscuring terrain. everything I'm mentioning is Clan-Tech, naturally. edit: this was also a long time ago, I might be misremembering some stuff. Error 404 fucked around with this message at 08:12 on Jul 24, 2010 |
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Jul 24, 2010 08:10
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Seen Pack Hunters on paper, never on the tabletop. They look pretty nice, like a Hollander all Clanned up. Fourteen hundred BV is a little steep for a thirty-tonner, though. One gauss shell to the right torso disarms it, one to the rear of the center torso cores it, and one to the front of the center torso can crit and leave it one (Spheroid) medium laser hit from death.
Kosmonaut fucked around with this message at 08:24 on Jul 24, 2010 |
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Jul 24, 2010 08:20
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About drat time we had a thread about this. Used to play live back in high school, but now it's pretty much just straight MegaMek for mad convenience. Also it means I get to burn EVERYTHING and it automatically calculates smoke and poo poo. My best friend hates it when I smokescreen his snipers. ps the summoner is the worst clan mech
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Jul 24, 2010 08:50
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Tempest_56 posted:Exactly this. I'm not sure why you wouldn't use Megamek under the circumstances you're describing. I'll suggest that but wouldn't that have the assumed effect of Megamek being responsible for all the die-rolling and other background mechanics? A couple of the players are pretty old-school and I can see them strongly opposing anything that doesn't involve them getting to physically roll their own dice, although I can imagine they'd see the obvious advantage in simply being able to look at the screen and see what the enemy mechs are doing, and what not.
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Jul 24, 2010 11:20
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Yoshimo posted:I'll suggest that but wouldn't that have the assumed effect of Megamek being responsible for all the die-rolling and other background mechanics? It does, yes. Maybe I'm just used to it, but aside from a fear of random number generators there's really not a downside. It's an amazing tool.
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Jul 24, 2010 18:21
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LeschNyhan posted:Also it means I get to burn EVERYTHING and it automatically calculates smoke and poo poo. My best friend hates it when I smokescreen his snipers. God yes, this is so true. There's nothing like playing on one of the heavy forest maps and dedicating a Firestarter to just running around and burning EVERYTHING. Even small blazes change the tactics in a big way, and that's something nobody wants to deal with on a standard tabletop. It's too much drat work.
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Jul 24, 2010 18:30
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LeschNyhan posted:ps the summoner is the worst clan mech Nuh uh. Hellbringer. Its so under-sinked and under-armored, and just has terribly laid out firing brackets. And machinegun ammo in the center torso. Who the hell does that on a mech with CASE? Alternatively: The Naga. And Megamek is pretty much the best thing. Though, there are points where you just have to wonder about the dice roller. Der Waffle Mous fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Jul 24, 2010 |
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Jul 24, 2010 23:10
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I don't know what you have against the Naga except maybe resentment at getting ARROW'D one too many times (unless you're playing with vehicles in which case yeah gently caress that waste of points)
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Jul 25, 2010 00:14
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Its not so much that the Naga is bad. Its why the gently caress is it even an omnimech?
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Jul 25, 2010 00:23
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Really I think most of the Clan 'mechs are pointless just because of Omnimechs. If you're a decent designer you only ever need like five or six different chassis.
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Jul 25, 2010 00:39
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