gazra
Posts: 34
Joined: 10/17/2008 Status: offline
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quote:
n48: "Try doing an experiment: use a balanced approach in your SP games, say, weaker weapons (a single strong weapon on a chassis and a few weaker ones) or even try using pre-made titans consistently... roleplay a little... you'll see how ToS suddenly becomes much more deep and challenging than before, with an even greater replay value! A totally different game..." You're quite right, n48. I will probably do the things that you suggested after I have mastered this game and when I replay the game and am seeking a greater challenge. But my problem is that I find it difficult to roleplay at the expense of having more capable Jocks and Titans. I've found some of the enemy Titans in the 'Deep Core' starter campaign (like the 'Ascension III' and the 'Spiritwalker') to be formidable (even against my "super" Jocks and custom-designed Titans!). I find it difficult to roleplay this game when: 1. Around half of the Titans have names that are from 'Mechs in BATTLETECH (in my opinion, it is sacrilege to use classic 'Mech names like the Warhammer, Marauder, Battlemaster, Awesome, and Atlas anywhere else but in BATTLETECH!). 2. Quite a few of the default Titans in v1.2.1 of the game seem to be not optimally designed. 3. The way the game determines the initial attribute values and skill values of new Jock recruits is so unfair! (not including any modifiers due to your Squad Leader's rank and 'Leadership' skill value). 4. Some of the different weapons in this game seem to be better than others. 5. The game allows you to custom design your own Titans. quote:
CrushU: "Generally, I consider shields very much worth it, mostly because while that extra 25 heat from that tesla bolt striking your shields DOES kinda screw your heat up, it's better than 25 damage going into your leg and screwing that up. Heat is easier to fix than armor." I agree with CrushU. I prefer using shields too. They save you a lot of money when repairing armor. The only cases where you wouldn't want your Titans to have active shields are: 1. You're fighting Titans that don't have Meson Guns or energy weapons. 2. You're fighting Titans that only have GME Rack weapons. 3. You're Titan has overheated and you desperately need to cool it down as fast as possible. But even in the above cases, active shields provide some protection from exploding Titans. In my experience, heat plays a MUCH more significant role in this game than it does in BATTLETECH, so I can see n48's point of view. It's not fun when your pristine Titan shuts down in the middle of a battle because it has overheated. On the negative side, an active shield increases a Titan's HD (HiDing factor or visibility) by 0.5, making the Titan easier to detect. And shields can overload, which DOUBLES the amount of heat absorbed from the weapon, and renders the shield useless for a while (and then you have to spend yet more time reactivating the shield, which prevents you from attacking during that time). On the other hand, shields reduce the amount of heat received from Flame Throwers and Napalm missiles. Every piece of equipment in this game has its pros and cons. It just boils down to your playing style and what you prefer to use. quote:
SireChaos: "I would say BT is more "ruthless", i.e. deadly." Reading the manual for this computer game gave me the impression that combat in this computer game seemed more ruthless than in BATTLETECH. However, now that I have actually PLAYED this computer game a bit, I now agree with you, SireChaos, that MechWarriors in BATTLETECH have a much greater chance of dying in battles. A single head shot by an AC/20, Gauss Rifle, or Clan ER PPC will instantly kill a MechWarrior. What was I thinking? quote:
CrushU: "Five CLPLs+TC and 52 Heatsinks on a 3/5 move Clan Assault with full armor" I only have old editions of the BATTLETECH rule books and Technical Readouts (that date back to 1992 or earlier), so I'm not familiar with the Battle Values of 'Mechs, and I don't know anything about "level 2 rules", "BV2 rules", "double-blind movement", "the BV2 system", or the "Blitzkrieg" and "Fire Moth" and "Ice Ferret" 'Mechs. According to my calculations, CrushU's above 'Mech design would not be able to have full armor (i.e. 19 tons for 304 armor points) - it would be 1 ton short of being able to have full armor. quote:
SireChaos: "And there´s the mech´s weakness... ridiculous rear armor, no rear-facing weapons" In the 3rd printing of 'The BattleTech Compendium' (1990), an optional rule is that 'Mechs without hand and lower arm actuators are able to flip both arms over during the Reaction Phase rather than perform a torso twist, which then allows any arm-mounted weapons to fire into the rear firing arc. Note that BattleMechs that are constructed without lower arm and hand actuators suffer no weapons fire penalties for lacking these components. Another benefit of a 'Mech having no hand and lower arm actuators is that the 'Mech's cost (in C-Bills) is cheaper. Quite frankly, why a 'Mech would have hand and lower arm actuators in the first place is beyond me! My version of CrushU's "perfect" 'Mech design has much more sensible armor point allocation, so it wouldn't suffer from that problem, SireChaos. quote:
SireChaos: "Do the rules you use include the ability of energy weapons to set fire to woods?" Yes, but it is an optional rule in the 3rd printing of 'The BattleTech Cempendium' (1990). Titans of Steel: Warring Suns uses a lot of the rules from BATTLETECH, which is one of the reasons why this computer game is superb. quote:
CrushU: "I play Invasion 3042" Why is the game called 'Invasion 3042' when the Clans invaded the Inner Sphere in 3049? quote:
SireChaos: "And there´s the mech´s weakness... ridiculous rear armor, no rear-facing weapons, no arm-mounted weapons. If the battlefield has any kind of cover (which they almost invariably have), a reasonably fast enemy (8/12 movement would be great, preferably with jump jets) can get close enough to it to get into its rear as soon as it wins initiative; then, one solid hit will lay open the rear armor and score critical hits. Anyway, I´ve never played double blind, but from what you describe, my tactics against that mech would be to use two fast units with low BV, maybe Vipers or Ice Ferrets, and get them on either side of this mech - it could not turn in any way that would not have it end up with its back turned to one of them. That, and/or use fast-moving units that stay in the CLPL´s long range bracket, to keep your unit´s to-hit modifiers high." The following quote is from page 7 of the Revised Second Printing of 'BattleTech Technical Readout: 3050': "Each Clan warrior selects his own target, and it appears to be dishonorable to allow another warrior to help in a kill". SireChaos, if you were roleplaying Clan MechWarriors, then they would be dishonored for using such tactics. SireChaos, you certainly have a keen eye for the best 'Mechs in the BATTLETECH universe. That Viper is one of the best 'Mech designs. Its only design faults are that it doesn't have enough heat sinks to be able to fire all of its weapons without overheating, and that it has an XL engine which makes critical hits to its engine more likely. My personal favorite 'Mech in all of the Technical Readouts up to and including 3055 is the Masakari (Alternate Configuration C). I also like the Rifleman IIC, the Behemoth, the Pouncer (Primary Weapons Configuration), and the Awesome AWS-8Q. quote:
SireChaos: "And, if you keep running 10+ hexes per turn, and stay within the long range bracket, you´ll get a total modifier of +8 to your enemies´to-hit roll. Even with those -3, that´s a +5, for a 2d6 roll, the more so if you, too, are in a woods hex, or there are some woods in the line of fire. In that case, SireChaos, CrushU would need to roll 9 or better (with 2d6) to hit your 'Mech if your 'Mech had no cover. That's a 27.777 % chance that each of his 5 Clan Large Pulse Lasers has to hit your 'Mech, which means that he is statistically likely to hit your 'Mech with at least one of the Clan Large Pulse Lasers each turn. If, however, SireChaos' 'Mech also had woods cover, then his 'Mech is statistically likely to not be hit at all. Which leaves the rather obvious question of just how SireChaos is actually going to defeat CrushU's ultimate 'Mech whilst SireChaos' 'Mechs are running around at long range with their +6 penalty (even worse if CrushU's 'Mech has any woods cover) to hit with their weapons due to range and their movement. CrushU's "perfect" 'Mech does have one slight weakness - his maximum weapon range is 20 hexes. If SireChaos was to use 'Mechs with longer range weapons like the Gauss Rifle, ER PPC, and Clan ER Large Laser, then, so long as he was able to keep his 'Mechs just out of CrushU's 'Mech's weapon range, SireChaos would be able to fire at CrushU's 'Mech until it was toast - it would be a LONG battle, though! quote:
LarkinVB: "I don't understand a word of your BT chatter" LarkinVB, considering that you co-made 'Titans of Steel: Warring Suns', how can that computer game contain so many of the rules of BATTLETECH if you don't know anything about BATTLETECH? quote:
SireChaos: "Kinda off-topic, but I am sort of curious what those "perfect designs" for BattleTech are." The following were my custom designs for the "perfect" 'Mech in BATTLETECH that I came up with back in the mid 1990's: 'Mech Name: Sniper Mass: 100 tons Technology: Clan Walking MP: 3 Running MP: 5 Jumping MP: 0 Armor Factor: 288 Heat Sinks: 26 [52] Max. heat/turn: 52 'Mech Cost: 10,412,000 C-Bills Engine: 300 Vlar (19 tons) Cockpit: (3 tons) Gyros: (3 tons) Internal Structure: Endo Steel (5 tons) (7 slots) Armor: 288 (18 tons) 5 Clan Large Pulse Lasers (30 tons) (10 slots) Targeting Computer (6 tons) (6 slots) 26 Clan Double Heat Sinks (16 tons) (28 slots) ======================================== (100 tons) (51 slots) Armor Allocation ================ H 9 LA/RA 30 LT/RT 30 LT(R)/RT(R) 10 CT 44 CT(R) 15 LL/RL 40 Critical Hit Table ================== Left Arm ======== 2 Clan Large Pulse Lasers 3 Clan Double Heat Sinks Head ==== Endo Steel Right Arm ========= 3 Clan Large Pulse Lasers 2 Clan Double Heat Sinks Left Torso ========== 3 Clan Double Heat Sinks 6 Endo Steel Center Torso ============ Clan Double Heat Sink Right Torso =========== Targeting Computer 3 Clan Double Heat Sinks Left Leg ======== Clan Double Heat Sink Right Leg ========= Clan Double Heat Sink Design Notes: this 'Mech does not have hand actuators or lower arm actuators. _______________________________________________________________________ 'Mech Name: Punisher Mass: 100 tons Technology: Clan Walking MP: 3 Running MP: 5 Jumping MP: 0 Armor Factor: 304 Heat Sinks: 31 [62] Max. heat/turn: 62 Engine: 300 Vlar (19 tons) Cockpit: (3 tons) Gyros: (3 tons) Internal Structure: (10 tons) Armor: 304 (19 tons) 4 Clan ER PPCs (24 tons) (8 slots) Clan Small Pulse Laser (1 ton) (1 slot) 31 Clan Double Heat Sinks (21 tons) (38 slots) ========================================== (100 tons) (47 slots) Armor Allocation ================ H 9 LA/RA 34 LT/RT 32 LT(R)/RT(R) 10 CT 46 CT(R) 15 LL/RL 41 Critical Hit Table ================== Left Arm ======== 2 Clan ER PPCs 2 Clan Double Heat Sinks Head ==== Clan Small Pulse Laser Right Arm ========= 2 Clan ER PCCs 2 Clan Double Heat Sinks Left Torso ========== 6 Clan Double Heat Sinks Center Torso ============ Clan Double Heat Sink Right Torso =========== 6 Clan Double Heat Sinks Left Leg ======== Clan Double Heat Sink Right Leg ========= Clan Double Heat Sink Design Notes: this 'Mech does not have hand actuators or lower arm actuators. _______________________________________________________________________ 'Mech Name: Headhunter Mass: 100 tons Technology: Clan Walking MP: 3 Running MP: 5 Jumping MP: 0 Armor Factor: 304 Heat Sinks: 29 [58] Max. heat/turn: 59 Mass Critical Engine: 300 Vlar (19 tons) Cockpit: (3 tons) Gyros: (3 tons) Internal Structure: (10 tons) Armor: 304 (19 tons) 3 Clan ER PPCs (18 tons) (6 slots) Clan ER Large Laser (4 tons) (1 slot) Targeting Computer (5 tons) (5 slots) 29 Clan Double Heat Sinks (19 tons) (34 slots) ========================================== (100 tons) (46 slots) Armor Allocation ================ H 9 LA/RA 34 LT/RT 32 LT(R)/RT(R) 10 CT 46 CT(R) 15 LL/RL 41 Critical Hit Table ================== Left Arm ======== Clan ER PPC 4 Clan Double Heat Sinks Head ==== Clan ER Large Laser Right Arm ========= 2 Clan ER PPCs 3 Clan Double Heat Sinks Left Torso ========== 4 Clan Double Heat Sinks Center Torso ============ Clan Double Heat Sink Right Torso =========== Targeting Computer 3 Clan Double Heat Sinks Left Leg ======== Clan Double Heat Sink Right Leg ========= Clan Double Heat Sink Design Notes: this 'Mech does not have hand actuators or lower arm actuators. "Your Squad sucks bosons!" - Professor Farnsworth (Futurama)
< Message edited by gazra -- 11/26/2008 4:25:39 AM >
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