Lets All Play Battletech and rewrite Inner Sphere history

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Lets All Play Battletech and rewrite Inner Sphere history

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Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

Zaodai posted:

Now you know how I feel every time there's a "poo poo on the CapCon" vote. But even when they do get poo poo on, the good writing makes it so its not just them getting bodied for free so they at least remain a credible power. With AI controlled robots, and their own HPGs!

Honestly while nearly all the factions have evolved into something more interesting than "Space Feudalism" at this point, the Capellans get my vote as the most exciting group of the moment. Scary dystopian technocracy is a strong hook for a faction to have. I'm looking forward to seeing where it evolves to.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2017 03:47

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 17:29

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

Spoiled for choice here. A massive multinational clusterfuck over a symbolically important former battlefield, the embodiment of :sherman:

, the second coming of Asa Taney's eugenicist circus, or the continued adventures of our favorite terribly named mercenaries.

Guess I'll have to go with throwing a vote on D just to bring up their numbers.

# ¿ Jun 19, 2017 07:43

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

Which is why they're going with mech and toads. Little Amaris even explicitly agreed with you that they shouldn't just nuke the planets.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2017 07:34

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

Fraction Jackson posted:

IS LPLs, though. cLPLs aren't fun either. I'm a jerk, but I got standards: no cLPLs, and no Slobodan Milo�ević in my stompy robots.

Compromise: Kinetic bombardment using mechs as payload.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2017 07:50

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

As mentioned previously, his opponent was restricted specifically to the lowest possible level of IS tech.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2017 04:24

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

SIGSEGV posted:

Battletech physics are endlessly mind-boggling. At least shadowrun ones have an excuse.

Until someone throws a grenade into a sealed lead vessel and creates enough explosive force to rival the big bang.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2017 00:48

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

PoptartsNinja posted:

The Jenner IIC, Urbanmech IIC, and Kraken aren't Omnimechs (the Kraken's arms are very prominent and contain most of its weapons), the Fire Falcon is a post-invasion scout 'Mech designed by the Jade Falcons who get increasingly squirrely over time, and the Naga is a punishment design intended to deter the user from getting stuck into a fight.

And even then, compare it to the functionally identical knockoff the O'Bakemono and you'll see the Naga's arms are much more prominent.

Clan Omni designs are psychological, it's something I've always liked. There is absolutely a style to them that speaks not only of the Clan that designed it but about the Clans as a whole. For example: Clan 'Mech hands are understated tiny things because punching is for freebirth scum, and a 'Mech's intended battlefield role dictates how big its guns are. The Stormcrow is often a scout commander so its arm lasers are understated, the Timber Wolf is a killer so the same combination of arm lasers are exaggerated into big bulky cannons. The Gargoyle is a force commander so it has a (really stupid) face. The Viper is a pure scout so the guns are as small as they can make them. The Mad Dog is a missile boat so the missile racks are emphasized (and it's clear that this is an exaggeration considering the Mad Dog C looks different enough that the IS flagged it as a different 'Mech entirely). The Dire Wolf (and the other Gunboxes like the Kit Fox) are utilitarian things designed to point as many barrels down range as possible, etc.

Even utilitarian soldier designs like the Summoner and Hellbringer share the Timber Wolf's arm design at least in part, even though they carry entirely different weapons. That arm design is Clan shorthand for "this 'Mech is here to kill you." Which is why I cranked that same arm up to 11 for the Wolf Spider, because the Widowmakers are arrogant enough to believe that their design is better.

The Sun Spider's design screams "scout" but the Clans simply don't use heavy 'Mechs as scouts. It's tall, and prioritizes vision and then doesn't back that with any recognizable "body language." It's built like a battlefield observer, it's the Clan version of a referee.

If it was intended to be a sniper like the Warhawk it would've been given long and prominent guns. If it's a pursuit vehicle like the Linebacker it'd be lower to the ground and closer to the light 'Mechs it's supposed to hunt. If it's a battler like the Timber Wolf and Night Gyr it should be presenting its weapons more boldly. It's definitely not an AA platform and if it's a missile boat why are they shoved in the back like an afterthought? The whole design screams "I hide in the back" and that's really not something the Clans like.

The--and this is a stretch based on the Clan they chose as its designer--only reason I can put forward that explains the wimpiness of the design is that it was designed with the Seekers in mind, which isn't supported by PGI's fluff but encouraging their drug-addled pilots to use their eyes and their brains instead of their guns is something the Goliath Scorpions might do. Edit: but if it was really intended for the Seekers the primary variant would be an energy boat.

But at the same time it would be akin to King Arthur giving one of his knights a coat of arms with a chicken on it to encourage them to maintain a healthy level of abject cowardice.

It's not a bad design. It's just not a Clan design. If you'd told me that was PGI's version of the Avatar I'd have believed you.

In short, art direction exists for a reason.

Edit: Welp, may as well put the associated rant on the new page.

# ¿ Dec 11, 2017 22:51

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

berryjon posted:

GOON MVP: Spider, for the Crosscounter to end all Crosscounters.
OP4 MVP: Hunchback IIC, for being the platonic ideal of the Hunchback IIC.

Yep. More importantly though, the liberators of Luthien are a bunch of gangsters, peasants, and foreigners. The one to crush the clan leader was even a woman. The hard liner combine people are going to be apoplectic with rage. The question is will this all be buried under propaganda, used to undermine the existing social order, or simply cleaned up with a few assassinations?

# ¿ Dec 18, 2017 03:42

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

PoptartsNinja posted:

The Society is also amazingly dumb since they produce the birth control chemicals that go into the Warrior Caste's food.

Add some polonium to that, dudes. Problem solved.

Eh, that just folds back into the whole setting conceit about major events being decided by a dude in a stompy robot. Just like all the other things that would solve a problem better than sending giant robots.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2018 00:26

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

Defiance Industries posted:

Any kind of bullshit gear that can make up for having 5/6 and 6/7 pilots.

Remember the talk just a bit ago about the Capellans becoming a safe harbor for the society? Team war crimes could potentially be the real big bad of this story.

# ¿ Feb 22, 2018 01:06

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

PTN has repeatedly stated that the Hawks will not die off camera.

# ¿ Mar 21, 2018 01:13

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

Gwaihir posted:

I'm just wondering what kind of force PTN is putting together to go toe to toe with these 12 mechs.

I mean, we've seen (briefly, lol) the Turkina Z and Osteon Prime. Where do you even go from a Turkina Z though haha. I guess there's potentially a mess of mechs packing headcappers and tarcomps?

Well, the setup for this is ultra-elite protagonists against a well equipped yet incompetent mob. So I suspect it's going to be Saturday morning cartoon rules. Explosions everywhere, hordes of mooks dying even as they fire ineffectually into the air, an individual or small group of dangerous boss types at the core.

Tran fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Mar 23, 2018

# ¿ Mar 22, 2018 23:29

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

PoptartsNinja posted:

Physical Combat Phase:
Legion #11 (Player)
- Kicks Osteon D (3 base + 3 movement + 2 enemy movement - 2 kick - 1 cybernetics = 5): rolled 7, hit Right Torso (0/24 armor, 29/36 structure remaining)! Crit!

What happened with this crit chance?

# ¿ May 9, 2018 22:09

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

On the other hand if C* were still in control their R&D program would have to deal with far more frequent accidents.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2018 20:05

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

PoptartsNinja posted:

Draconis Combine
Isoroku Kurita�s health is failing. The Combine�s warlords clamor for renewed campaigns against the Clan ilKhanate, but Isoroku knows that until the Combine�s forces are rebuilt such assaults would be suicide. So far he�s managed to limit them to light raiding, but his most pressing concern is a practical one: preparing the Combine for the ascension of his chosen heir, Yumi Marie Kurita-Davion�Ian Kurita-Davion�s twin sister. The Draconis Combine�s relationship with the Hell�s Horses is cordial, but distant.

Siblings running neighboring rival nations with a history of conflict. Pretty much asking for the inevitable war of unification.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2018 01:36

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

Looks like Burrock and the Goliath Scorpions actually made out the best of everyone in the clan invasions. Reasonably stable gains with no great losses. Now they can wallow in decadence and profligacy like any good conqueror.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2018 08:20

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 17:29

Tran: Feb 17, 2011; It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Especially in such a fine settin' as this. Just need us some music an' a brawl an' we'll be set.

Leperflesh posted:

Like all converts, I expect them to be even more ardent than the original, demanding ideological purity and competing with one another over who is the truest scotsman.

As a reminder, the snake clans have been genuinely enthusiastic about embracing giant robot melee duels. So the ideological purity test is always going to be a little muddled.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2018 00:29

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Lets All Play Battletech and rewrite Inner Sphere history

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