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PoptartsNinja posted:It is indeed, but the model is unsustainable in the Inner Sphere since the average soldier makes a few hundred C-bills a month. Most likely any prize money would be at a fraction of the open market value (1/10th most likely), but that's still a pretty hefty bonus for the average Great House `Mechwarrior (while not being high enough to enable them to retire off a single `Mech capture). I'm probably getting realism and battletech mixed in unsuitable quantities here, but the annual wage for a British sailor was twelve pounds, and a 'big capture' was worth 30 or 40 pounds to said sailor, so it can work but that's a different model. But yeah, with sizeable bonuses on offer like that, you are going to be strongly motivated to be more aggressive (bigger chance of a fight and cash prizes), and will probably change your tactics when you do.
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Feb 1, 2012 04:34
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Urcinius posted:
Yeah, it's all linked together - the fighting instructions, the articles of war and prize money are two sides of the same coin. It's fascinating in a historical context that both the harsh punishments of the articles of war disappeared along with prize money when central authorities gained much more power to directly monitor and control captains. The number of captains discharged or executed through cowardice or misconduct is extraordinatory (8% or so if I remember correctly in the 1700s). Many more would have been protected by influence or otherwise put on the beach rather than drummed out. The rigid inflexibility of the fighting instructions, the harsh punishment of the articles of war and the big incentives of prize money are to strictly define the duties of a captain in alignment with the goals of the crown (destory the hostile fleet) and give them a big carrot and a really big stick to actually do that in an enviroment where 'the wind' or whatever give the captain some big excuses to try and dodge responsibility. Here is what you will do (the fighting instructions), here is what we will do to you if you don't (the articles of war), and here is a huge cash prize if you can get it done well. It's not quite nothing short of victory is expected, it's a literal implementation of 'come home with your shield or on it' - Voltaire's snark is actually deadly accurate and the Admirality was definately into demolishing your career or having you shot on that basis. e: Trafalgar is a classic, the captains of the french van would have all been shot out of hand by the British authorities for rank cowardice for failing to engage more closely as proscribed by the fighting instructions. Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Feb 1, 2012 |
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Feb 1, 2012 05:51
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The Merry Marauder posted:Now, was the Royal Navy more of a meritocracy than the Army at the time? Absolutely - having to (theoretically) earn your promotion to lieutenant and captain was a much better system than simply purchasing your rank. I reject your thesis that it was a particularly draconian discipline (among the officers, mind) that made them so. I'm suggesting it's not just draconian discipline - it's a combination of incentives. You're well rewarded if you do it well and harshly punished for failing to do so - if you were serious about the career even being beached on half pay was essentially terminal, a post-captain's half pay wage was not that good. I'd make the observation that one of Blake's stated reasons behind developing/forcing the admirality to develop the fighting instructions was to ensure that captain's couldn't shirk the fight - specifically removing the right of captains to leave the line of battle at a time of their own chosing under the punishment of death. As the line of battle isn't even a particularly good idea (see: Trafalgar) what is the point of these reforms if not disicipline? It's also worth nothing the articles of war were subsequently abolished for much less harsh methods post the introduction of steam where factors like the weather couldn't interfer with engagements (with reason) I agree Byng got a bum rap, and I'm not saying it's 100% punishment that motivated these people (officers were free to join), but there sure was a big stick. The carrot was pretty big though. The mandatory death penalty for failure to engage was abolished in 1778, so obviously by 1800 there are going to be less deaths, the most obvious one I think think of is the admiral in 1805 getting court marshalled for failing to pursue the french after his inital victory. Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Feb 1, 2012 |
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Feb 1, 2012 07:24
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Arglebargle III posted:Why does the MASC role keep going up? Seems like a few updates ago it was just snake eyes. The more turns in a row you use it, the system is more and more likely to jam. I think you're limited to 5 turns before another use would be an 'autofail' so you're not allowed to.
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Feb 1, 2012 11:23
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Damnit! We'll get you next time clanners. Tough match and DWM played well to get out of there without getting fragged, but I was rooting for him to get exploded.
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Feb 9, 2012 00:26
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B RC3 e: fixed tags. Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Feb 10, 2012 |
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Feb 10, 2012 01:03
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evilmiera posted:D D because I hate the Capellans almost as much as the clans. Why can't the Jade Falcons invade the Capellan confederation. that would be awesome.
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Feb 13, 2012 15:19
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quote:PTN: for your sanity and that of the players, this sounds like an amazing idea. It breaks the team randomisation - where do you insert it into the process? It's probably a good idea for the players to set a reasonably complex fire conditional and re-use it every order, such as Whenever it is possible to shoot at multiple mechs, shoot at the one with the best to hit chance: * Fire any weapons at any hostile mech that hits on a 8+ or better. * Fire any energy weapons in this order (XYZ) at any hostile mech that hits on an 11+ if the heat can be sunk this turn. * Use any melee attacks legally possible. etc.
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Feb 16, 2012 05:06
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Sair posted:The end of the turn, after the fire phase. Then you're breaking each turn into two which doubles the resolution time. It's only worth swapping the order if you ask players to submit both their fire and movement orders. The advantage of swapping is that you don't need complex conditional firing orders from the players because they will be able to see the 'shooting' state when submitting orders.
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Feb 16, 2012 05:27
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Needs a different win condition to encourage action. For example: Whoever gets the most rep at the end wins. There is a big bonus for winning the match, because everyone wants to sponsor the dude in the finals. But you also get rep for killing mechs, doing damage, making the highlights real and being nominated MVP (because these things all get your sponsoring house more spotlight time). Getting killed in a spectacular fashion should also have a big bonus stapled to it because that will also make the highlights reel. Then sulking in the corner and killing the second last dude will get a good score but lose against say a hatchetman who headcaps a dude with his axe then gets taken out, because that Hatchetman will make the highlights reel, gets a kill bonus and gets MVP. It also makes hiding not so great a strategy because your staking everything on not getting killed. In this case our sprightly Centurion and Hatchman should be generating heaps of rep because the Camera team isn't going to be watching anyone else. Makes it feel like a real sporting event. While sulking might be the percentage play (as it is in any FFA), your sponsors want you in the spotlight so the camera lingers lovingly on your sponsorship decals while you headcap some guy with your PPC in slow-mo, even if you get gunned down later, it was still worth it. Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Mar 15, 2012 |
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Mar 15, 2012 06:01
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RedMagus posted:Plus, work allows you to survive till you become a permanent Battletech writer, and thus create better giant robots for us all. It's Win-Win baby! Freelancers get paid like 1 cent a word (it depends, could be as high as 3?). It's not going to replace your day job.
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Mar 26, 2012 05:20
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Malachite_Dragon posted:Ah, so thats why some of the freelancers I've seen write like a vomiting thesaurus... Yeah, it's a pretty terrible job in the grand scheme of things. One of the SR freelancers 'Ancient History' (I have forgotten his real name) disclosed his rates of pay after the Catalyst/Shadowrun payment hilarity and he was getting paid between 3 and 5 cents a word, which I gather is the RPG standard. I'm rooting for the Centurion, he has done an amazing job so far.
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Mar 27, 2012 01:07
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So for the people who understand the situation, which one is most likely to bone the Cappies and help the free worlds league?
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Apr 10, 2012 02:13
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C I hope they all die. However, the Arkhab Legion guys sound like my kind of people.
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Apr 10, 2012 02:28
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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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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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A I think the FWL dudes are people are like, so anyone attacking them must be a jerk... maybe. I don't really understand the politics here.
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Apr 13, 2012 03:31
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Rhobot Mk. II posted:Thanks PTN! I tried to make the refit match the 'spirit' of the original, while keeping in mind how much time and money serious refit would require. I can actually see a tech performing this kind of a straight-forward hack-job. Wow, that thing is going to run super hot. Doesn't the stock Cicada actually have medium lasers in the arms and a small laser in the torso, so it would be designed to have energy weapons fitted like that? Probably two medium lasers is more thematic but the heat burden would be intolerable.
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Apr 17, 2012 00:48
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Rhobot Mk. II posted:For a Class B refit, you can swap weapon classes with the same number of crits/tons, in the same critical slots, which is what I did. Makes sense - didn't know about the refit rules. I guess you cannot fit a different ballistic weapon either, I cannot think of anything that would fit.
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Apr 17, 2012 01:50
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Turn 4. Gauss Rifle. The Valkyrie.
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Apr 20, 2012 01:19
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DivineCoffeeBinge posted:Lyrans aren't as a general rule quite that subtle, though, are they? I always got the impression that Lyrans were much more straightforward in the way they approached battle, i.e. 'It doesn't matter how sneaky the other guy is if you have four times as many 'Mechs as he does.' That's a hazy impression based on poo poo I vaguely remember from a decade ago, though. I think you forgot 'and they are bigger' from the Lyran Mission Statement there.
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Apr 24, 2012 11:07
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berryjon posted:This was also written at a time when FASA thought that a mere 3,000 jumpships could handle all the trade of the Inner Sphere. So if this guy was being asked to steal a Jumpship, it would be like trying to hijack something that can be identified in about 30 seconds anywhere you go. 30,000 isn't close to enough either. How many container ships does earth alone have? Today? 10,000? Plus tankers? But thinking about it to hard leads to  Do any merc units own their own JumpShips or do they all thumb rides off passing JumpShips?
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May 4, 2012 03:53
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PoptartsNinja posted:
Did LOKI abduct someone else to fill in for Jeana at the funeral, in true swallowed a spider to catch the fly style? Why not just offer her a job for, you know, money?
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May 7, 2012 03:49
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Defiance Industries posted:
I know the answer is 'because Battletech', but why even bother with the car crash theatrics? Just give her a posting to either the special forces, LOKI itself or Steiner's body guard. If today someone said 'hey I got that
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May 7, 2012 04:52
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PoptartsNinja posted:Except it's Battletech. Jeana was already a `Mechwarrior, what else is there to aspire to? I presume the special forces in Battletech use Giant Robots! So I guess you could aspire to having two atlases fused together as your personal ride. No expense spared in the protection of the Archon. Edit: Now I'm imagining the Archon ghost riding an Atlas.
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May 7, 2012 06:17
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BatteredFeltFedora posted:Now I'm really curious. Two headshot kills, one apiece?
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May 29, 2012 01:20
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dis astranagant posted:Omnimechs really only make sense when there's constant low level fighting under constantly changing conditions. A wrecked omnimech is expensive to rebuild or replace as well as both expensive and time consuming to adapt salvage to fit. While the IS is fighting a 'total war' compared to the clanners, they are not able to marshal their industrial base like you would probably consider a 'total war' to look like if you are bringing your experince with historical total wars in as a reference point due to logistical constraints. Really the IS is feudal knights and the clanners are playground slapfights.
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Jun 12, 2012 06:25
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^ People redesigned the engine covers to make them less vulnerable, and the modern generation of NBC protected tanks can obviously be sealed against burning fuel. T.G. Xarbala posted:You've definitely got the right of it. Yeah, it's a slightly more complex picture in practice because in real life armour isn't ablative, it tends to be 'bounces off or penetrate' and if you tried to put enough armour on an tank to achieve impenetrability from all directions you would have a block of steel that just sort of sat there. So given that you cannot have enough armour, you try and prioritise what weapon systems you want to be able to defeat from which facings at what ranges, which means a bunch of different thickness (and weight) breakpoints. This is what leads to the factor that a Abrams has massively thick armor but once you move to anything lighter they have significantly thinner armor. Unlike BTech there is no point having armor thicknesses in the middle - either you can bounce a RPG round or you cannot (slight simplification there, there are three stages - everyone dies, the vehicle is dead but the crew survives and bounces). Given these constraints, modern designers are effectively faced with this challenge: In a BT context if you could pick one, but only one, facing to have 'immune to gauss rifles' be an effect, which face would it be? Of course, you'd pick the front. Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Jul 11, 2012 |
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Jul 11, 2012 02:32
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Rivensteel posted:I thought reactive armor was pretty standard on main battle tanks these days. Isn't that essentially an ablative layer? There was about 5 billion massive simplifications to produce that statement, this is one of them, though yeah NATO doesn't it use it much. They do make use of armour skirts and space armour though, both of which degrade when they take hits. I'm sure there are other exceptions I have no considered. That said, as Urcinius outlines, extra armour, reactive armor etc tend to be refits done to existing hulls because making new hulls is difficult and expensive. It's so tricky not just in rebuilding your fleet but retooling your production lines, I think late model Bradley IFVs actually rolled off the production line with infantry firing ports that were immediately covered over with the armour upgrade kits. Amusingly, it's kinda like Battletech in that respect. Gotta wring some more years of serviceable life out of your old, old, old chassis.
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Jul 11, 2012 07:38
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Player MVP:Hermes II. OpFor MVP: Bobcat. Political vote: NAY I hope that no means they fight.
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Jul 19, 2012 14:49
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1 - Kestral Grenadiers, cause gently caress the clans Also this is clearly the most 'intresting' option - IS mechs on the offensive, player creation options, the opportunity to gently caress some space racists right up the rear end? What's not to love!
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Jul 21, 2012 19:46
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TL:DR version YUAN and OXHEAD drop into A and assaults HORSE-FACE drops into G and defends Goons play YUAN Basic idea is to capture A and B while using Horseface to stop the hells horses from helping their clan buddies out. Long wordy version: SITUATION: Clan Hells Horses have occupied the planet. 5 strategic objectives have been identified: Potters Field (Alpha) Apace Junction (Bravo) The Dales (Juliett) Sonora (Charlie) Chihuahua (Delta) All these objectives must be secured to liberate the planet. It is anticipated that OPFOR is positioned to defend these objectives. Planetry power installations are located at Mt Gila (ECHO), and may be secured. Intelligence has not sighted defenders. Enemy patrols have been sighted at Bottomside Woods (Kilo). Enemy Aerospace assets have been identified based out of ALPHA. No Enemy Naval or Space assets have been identified. COMMANDERS INTENT: YUAN and OXHEAD will assault objective Alpha then objective Bravo. YUAN and OXHEAD actual may seize E if the situation on the ground presents the oppotunity. These objectives should give us a logistics base. YUAN and OXHEAD should attempt to salvage any equipment than can be reused in our operations or provided to intelligence. While YUAN and OXHEAD capture Alpha and Bravo HORSEFACE will prevent reinforcement of the objectives by holding GOLF. The objective is to hold off clanner reinforcements until ALPHA and BRAVO can be secured. HORSEFACE should exercise initiative in determining what are the best defensive positions. Once Alpha and Bravo are captured, we can regroup at the defensive position in GOLF prior to rolling up the remaining clanner positions with a concentrated force. STAGE 1 MISSION: Companies YUAN and OXHEAD will assault and secure the industrial and logistics centres in Potters Field (ALPHA) and Apache Junction (BRAVO). These facilities must be secured intact as they will form foundational capabilities of our logistics for this operation. One both objectives are captured YUAN and OXHEAD will conduct salvage operations and determine what assets can be re-purposed. Garrison duties will be handed off to infantry units. Company HORSE-FACE will conduct a screening operation to prevent OPFOR from reinforcing objectives ALPHA and BRAVO at PHASELINE ADAM in Topside Woods (GOLF). HORSE-FACE Actual may use his own initiative in positioning his forces on or about PHASELINE ADAM and may extend his operations into Long Sound (HOTEL) and Kas-Ki-Yeh (INDIA) on his own initiative. HORSE-FACE should expect a counter-attack and may dig in at PHASELINE ADAM. Any available engineering assets will be routed to HORSE-FACE. YUAN should join HORSEFACE at PHASELINE ADAM as soon as feasible after securing ALPHA and BRAVO. OXHEAD join HORSE-FACE at PHASELINE ADAM in GOLF after securing ALPHA and BRAVO and have salvaged any equipment they are able to. Commanders are warned that OPFOR knows we are in system and will be preparing. STAGE 1 SUPPORT MISSIONS: YUAN and OXHEAD have priority on all support assets (Fire, Recon and Aerospace). Engineering assets (e.g. Mines) should be used to support HORSEFACE. Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 05:25 on Jul 23, 2012 |
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Jul 23, 2012 05:21
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Keru posted:Ox: F, much like DefHes said, it's a good option to land at and then strike towards the Geothermal sites, reducing efficiency of the Hells Horses Pretty sure this means its strictly better to drop Ox and Yan at A then, Ox can help Yan right now, and still attack the geothermal plants next turn. There is no reason as far as I can see not to double drop A unless you are planning on attacking the factories turn 2 with Ox.
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Jul 23, 2012 12:56
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Voyager I posted:Dropping Ox on the beach could force the enemy to split their forces, both in their response to the initial landings and in their attempts to fortify the Geothermal Plant on the next turn. If we land everything at A, our options are limited and our hand is essentially played. Either we can attack directly into the moutains from one direction, which the enemy will be able to prepare for, or we spend a turn moving into F, which threatens more areas but isn't an objective in itself, which means the enemy will still be able to prepare and might even be able to launch a counterattack onto the spaceport (I'm not sure what the actual rules are for the scenario). Except this way we have to fight at the spaceport with only one company. While your hand is tipped with the double drop, hopefully bringing two companies to bear is more than enough. Splitting our force we still have to make all the same moves, just at half strength.
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Jul 23, 2012 15:47
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Alchenar posted:gently caress that advice, you're here to seize the starport and all assets in the area. The fact that those aerospace fighters weren't thrown at the Dropships in space strongly implies that they're a very limited resource - indeed, these could be the only aerospace assets on planet. Capturing them would guarantee air and recon superiority. The real learning here is - ask PTN if the fighters are active or powered down! If they are active, shoot them now. If not, try and capture them.
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Jul 24, 2012 12:33
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Voting B I think my turn is up in the game but I'm going overseas until Mid-January 2017 so do you mind bumping me down the list?
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Nov 17, 2016 02:41
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