btech

[joviwan]

That's why I use Megamek.

[Veef]

Megamek doesn't fix the crippling balance issues

you just have to play level 1 where like Nephyts said, everything sucks equally

Stark would say you can have all those things you like about Battletech without all the awfulness

Unless you like those parts I guess.

[joviwan]

Well I'm not actually a btech nerd in the sense of 'hex based warfare combat in the 31st millenium'. I mean, I've enjoyed megamek a few times, but I don't actually know any of the rules or played enough to experience/care about balance issues.

I'm mostly in it for the aesthetics and flavor, and the silly, and I played the MechWarrior games a lot when they were fresh. Horrible mechanics just didn't matter to me that much because I'm a bit of a child and like it when big things knock the shit out of each other.

I don't know, I'm not making much sense to myself at the moment. I guess I've got this mental... mystique? built up around btech and it all kind of scratches an itch, and I'm blase enough to just not care about how dumb it all can be. Or maybe blase is 'dumb'.

ramblerambleramble

[Veef]

I could probably recommend you some stuff like that

but honestly what battletech media is really like that

it's all leg shooting in the games

[joviwan]

Uh, none, I guess. That's a good point. My favorite parts of btech are the narrative I assign to actions and their consequences during btech turns.


Honestly I'd happily take recommendations.

[Veef]

Well there's a few I can think of.

Like SLAI aka Steel Lancer Arena International for PS2. All the robots have fairly meaty melee and guns.

Robot Alchemic Drive for PS2 is kind of third person where you control robots externally. They are huge and punch and kick monsters to death. There's more games in the series but those are Import only.

The Votoms PS2 game is another import but it has some punching and kicking and shooting. Votoms is a great show too.

[starku]

Uh, none, I guess. That's a good point. My favorite parts of btech are the narrative I assign to actions and their consequences during btech turns.


Honestly I'd happily take recommendations.

What's funny is this is almostc Certainly better than the actual stories

I am binging hard on Sarna today

And every single battle Is written by someone who is clearly reading a tabletop game in progress and they don't bother actually talking about decisonmakimg or whatever

Just 'Mech goes here, dies

Ps the mendacious use of 'Mech is so amazing

Attempt to establish ownership of genre term = failed

[The Spartan]

not saying I don't have a cache of Btech stuff myself

but do any us really enjoy rolling to hit on our LRM20s

and then rolling to see how many hit

and then rolling to see where they hit in 5 missile clusters

and then adjusting the heat scale

Only if a bunch hit and I got to watch my opponent wincing at the damage to his mech.

Though I preferred high speed medium mechs with energy weapons like a Cicada with a PPC or, my personal favorite, the Jenner with 4 med lasers and upgraded armor.

That said, it's been about 3 years since I played. I had to choose between football and chasing women or playing Battletech with a bunch of nerds.

[The Spartan]

I should hasten to add that I'm not exactly not a nerd myself. Just that I chose chasing women over nerds.

[Veef]

Attempt to establish ownership of genre term = failed

yeah that's why most robot shows in Japan always coin their own term

so people can keep track of everything

[starku]

i like labours if only because the term 'military labour' is hilarious to me

also did you know it is pretty trivial to put multiple lookups in one table so you only have to roll once?

btech designers didn't

[Veef]

I have this one game called Gale Gunner. The robots are TWR or Terrain Walker Regional. It sounds so official.

[Mr.Coffee]

Wait, people still play RobotexBattletech?

[Veef]

25 million people have played it according to wikis

[The Spartan]

Wait, people still play RobotexBattletech?

it's been about 3 years since I played.

And all the kids/younger adults in the game store I used to play in were all playing card based games and weren't particularly interested in the miniature gaming we were doing.

[Veef]

man i love it when they make you play as something like this

and in the board game it can turn its torso just like everything else

but when you use in a video game, it can turn its torso because it doesn't fucking have a waist joint

why even draw it like that

[joviwan]

Okay, so I've narrowed it down


My two favorite parts of btech are

1) assigning narrative to what just happened while playing megamek (Gary 7 valorously rammed his truck into the Warhammer's foot. He died instantly, warhammer unscathed, but the bridge collapsed under the added weight and dropped him 300 feet into a river. Gary 7 was awarded posthumously for his quick thinking and hasty self sacrifice).

2) PODS!




man these were so cool as a kid

I'll be honest I'd think they were so cool right now, if there were any that existed anywhere near me

[starku]

Be more insecure

[joviwan]

Okay.

[starku]

6/10

Could be better

[Veef]

i like how in MW2 they simplified the animations to where when you aim up or down while your torso is turned, your 'Mech just bends awkwardly at the hips so it tilts your view

then again I guess Battlemechs don't have waist joints that flex

[starku]

whats a lol is the different characeristics mechancially of their different designs could have cool game effects

isntead of being irrelevant

those hunchback ones that are really, low but have no hips trade agility for lower profile, for instance

(yes i am aware they are still the same height and would thus be way more unstable)

and those dudes with no waist or hips are tradign flexibility for armour or whatev

too hard

need more hit location rolls and ablative hitpoints for some reason

[Veef]

the console MW2 only has 5 locations worth of hit points (dumb down for consoletards)

but the weapons don't really have the precision to do anything special

also shooting helicopters VTOL without a lead indicator is hard. better use missiles because it's lulzy to see 10 LRMs snake around to hit a little thing

ok this is something all robot games have to stop

i don't want to defend slow moving trucks ever again

i hated it when Virtual On Marz did it. then i realized you can reload a save until the random missions give you a KILL THE TRAILERS stage

which is way more fun

[starku]

what about the mechwarrior trucks that reverse around a mech and then it's fixed in 5s

[Veef]

i have no idea what you're talking about

so i have to wonder if the guys at FASA had the game first or the designs

because all the basic rules are made for your typical humanoid machine with a few small conceits to things like quad legged robots (lol Dougram) and robots with missile box arms (they can make them face backwards)

like how does a Mad Catz go prone?

then they were like well shit we got this Glaug, gotta use it somehow. don't change anything though.

of course the ironic thing is that both Macross and Dougram especially pay attention to different types of robots and how they move and have different advantages in certain environments :3

like when the Dougram has to fight the six-legged Desert Gunner it's all like holy shit it is the king of the desert. use combined arms to win.