More news on those plastic minis!
http://www.camospecs.com/Article.asp?FictionID=27
http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=59338.0
Tonnage vs Battlevalue
After playing a few games via megamek using both drop weight and battle value as game pointage here's some of my thoughts:
Clanners and/or any force that packs advanced tech and powerful weapons will be severely handicapped using the Battle Value system. For the same pointage as 3 Clan Heavy Mechs your opponent can counter with 4 or more Assault Class inner sphere mechs! While that might seem like small fry when one considers that this is still a game using dice... no matter how fancy your equipment can be, the numbers game will insure that the Clan side will lose most of the time. (a single round of shooting from an Atlas can tear your madcat apart like it was paper. lol)
Using Drop Weight as your game pointage can easily highlight the fictional power of the Clans (and other advanced units) as they will pack more punch than an innersphere mech with the same pointage though they are not unbeatable. Part of me favors this method more.
Well it seems with both systems there's no real pure "Balance" that can be achieved as one side will always be handicapped by the system. Unless players agree to do some tweaks. There's also the matter of basic clan pilots starting out at 3/4 gunnery/piloting skills rather than the innersphere basic 4/5 value. (though 1 point doesn't really make such a huge difference on 2d6) lol. Using the Battle value system this can make an already expensive unit so much more expensive as using pilots with 3/4 will multiply the mech value by 1.25.
ex: Madcat Prime = 2,252 x 1.25 = 2,815
vs Atlas AS7-C = 1,650
:P nuff said...
Clanners and/or any force that packs advanced tech and powerful weapons will be severely handicapped using the Battle Value system. For the same pointage as 3 Clan Heavy Mechs your opponent can counter with 4 or more Assault Class inner sphere mechs! While that might seem like small fry when one considers that this is still a game using dice... no matter how fancy your equipment can be, the numbers game will insure that the Clan side will lose most of the time. (a single round of shooting from an Atlas can tear your madcat apart like it was paper. lol)
Using Drop Weight as your game pointage can easily highlight the fictional power of the Clans (and other advanced units) as they will pack more punch than an innersphere mech with the same pointage though they are not unbeatable. Part of me favors this method more.
Well it seems with both systems there's no real pure "Balance" that can be achieved as one side will always be handicapped by the system. Unless players agree to do some tweaks. There's also the matter of basic clan pilots starting out at 3/4 gunnery/piloting skills rather than the innersphere basic 4/5 value. (though 1 point doesn't really make such a huge difference on 2d6) lol. Using the Battle value system this can make an already expensive unit so much more expensive as using pilots with 3/4 will multiply the mech value by 1.25.
ex: Madcat Prime = 2,252 x 1.25 = 2,815
vs Atlas AS7-C = 1,650
:P nuff said...
Training Day
I asked Barby to playtest Battletech with me a few days back. I was teaching her the basics of playing the game using the map sheets that came with the starter box. We put together 200 tonnage lances and just figured out how it goes along the way. I sliced up the record sheets and placed them in plastic sleeves so that we can just mark damage, etc. with dry erase markers.
Some points from the game:
- If the attack roll needed is greater than 12 (like shooting a moving target at long range while running), is it an automatic miss? Or does a raw roll of 12 still count as a hit?
- The Awesome (and any other BattleMech weaponry with a minimum range) can still fire its PPCs even if the enemy is really close (it just has a harder time to hit). My bad, as I had assumed if it's too close, it cannot fire anymore like with the 40K Imperial Guard Basilisk or the WARMACHINE Khadoran Mortar Crew.
- It is actually more efficient to just photocopy the record sheets and use pencils instead of the dry erase marker. Since the record sheet is quite big, it is easy to accidentally erase parts of the damage taken, heat produced or ammo expenditure.
- Albeit using the map sheets is tradition, I prefer the use of 3d terrain. That's just me.
The Widow Makers, Journal entry 1
To: Capt. Julius "Fury" Feldman
Sir as requested here is my account of the events of our encounter with the survivors of Camp Vortigern, the Free Worlds League base that 2nd Company hit a few days ago.
We came upon the enemy at the old ruins of Dresden. We were hoping to catch them before they reached the area as facing them there could cause problems for us in terms of maneuvering. Sadly it was not to be. Once we spotted them I ordered my lance to deploy battle formation. We stayed as close as we could so as not to allow the enemy to penetrate our line and hit us from the rear.
The enemy was spotted to the south preparing to attack. The recon reports were accurate. It was indeed a lance of mixed Heavy, medium and light mechs.
I immediately ordered my men to concentrate fire on the Falcon, Dirk "Ghost" Castrausky's commendable shooting inflicted visible damage on the Falcon's left arm, by the way it was limping afterwards. These were no pushovers for pilots though sir as during the exchange my mech was hit in the cockpit twice!
I realized the enemy's Longbow would cause us much problem so concentrated our weapons fire on it. Pieces of armor flew and some were disintigrated as we brought our full firepower against it.
The Free World's Legionaires tried to pummel "Ghost's" Uziel but unfazed by this his return fire caused much angush on the Longbow pilot as he must've destroyed the enemy's gyro systems causing the Longbow to fall to the ground with a great crash!
Armor chunks flew appart as Lasers streak thru the battlefield and missiles flew to hit their targets. It was turning into a furios exchange! "Ghost" manages to knockdown the enemy's Excalibur with a few well placed shots!
Lieutenant Kara "Gambit" Chrace went straight for the kill as she fired up her Axman's jump jets and landed beside the downed Longbow. She stomped on the mech's cockpit with fury! Taking it out of commission and killing the pilot (for which she awaits trial as per our unit's laws... I also condemn this action as we are mercenaries not murderers!) .
In an unprecedented stroke of luck the Excalibur's pilot makes a critical mistake while trying to get up from being knocked down by "Ghost's" shots. His mech came crashing down destroying it in several places and it goes out with a huge fusion detonation! I managed to destroy the Falcon's left arm with my small lasers. Then to my surprise Ghost and the pilot of the Falcon get into a kicking match! Though hitting each other these two obviously could pilot a mech as neither slipped and fell as a result of the kicking match.
The ensuing moments turned into a close range fire fight between me, "Gambit", the Phoenix Hawk and the Falcon. Ghost too advantage of this confusion by running clear from the conflict and sniping from afar. Our combined weapons fire inflicted great damage on the falcon and parts of it were now hanging useless ... its almost done for! These were steadfast warriors however as even in their condition a combined kick from the two mechs sent my Awesome crashing down but not before I kicked them back!
The Phoenix Hawk tried to maneuver by putting some distance between it and my Lance but my shot had it's name written on it! When I was done shooting it I could see the mech venting oxygen and coolant's into the air... and by the way the enemy was shooting I would guess his sensors were all messed up! The Falcon was brave however and stayed in close range to it's detriment! "Gambit" fired her ER Medium Lasers and time seemed to slow as we saw it punch thru the falcon's armor and the ensuing Catastrophic explosions could only mean she hit an ammo bin! She was slowly training her guns on the Mech Pilot but I was quick to reprimand her and point out that we are not executioners!
The Phoenix Hawk pilot became suicidal at this point or perhaps he was trying to buy time for his commorade to escape that he charged straight into the fray guns blazing and asking for a clean death! We answered his bravery with Weapons fire and my shots destroyed his mech's leg! It was time to finish off the last enemy mech! I had my mech step on the enemy's right arm crushing it to bits! "Gambit" tried to join in but even prone the enemy was not defenseless! She missed and caused her mech to come crashing to the ground.
The Phoenix Hawk tried to get up but only to recieve an alpha strike from my Lance. The pilot sadly did not eject...
The commandos have brought in the surviving pilot and is now ready for interrogation. The Techs also managed to take the excalibur intact though it will be weeks before the replacement parts for the mech's cockpit components arrive.
Capt. Tiago "Tulisan" Alvarez
Widow Maker Company
Mercaddes Ehrason
I've been reading some more back story on what apparently is what's now called the Lyran Alliance. Their MechWarriors should either be bald or sport a bald spot. I think it has to do something with their helmet thingamajig.I also learned that some influence on the Lyran Alliance were taken from old WWII if I'm not mistaken (or I may have gleaned that from elsewhere and just mushed it all together LOL).
So here's my revised sketch of Mercaddes Ehrason. Yeah I know it's pretty much a rip off some old anime look, but hey, that's what I decided to go for. Usually MechWarriors shouldn't have much heavy clothing on when piloting BattleMechs. I used this combat armor look because it enforces Mercaddes' belief to lead by example; thus he should be ready to fight at all times, be it piloting his Mech or fighting outside it.
It's just a sketch in progress, so I'll add on to it at a later date.
Here's my first sketch of the guy. Did it all using a WACOM digipen on Adobe Photoshop CS2.
References and Guidelines
As per Ryan Tamayo's text message:
Anyway, I'm thinking we play between the Fourth Succession War until the arrival of the clans; so we can use techs up to 3050. Let's set our pointage to 200 tons and use a maximum of four BattleMechs only.Here is a list of references and guidelines that pertain to back story or fluff in the Classic Battletech storyline/universe.
6th Renegade Lance Squadron
PilotLeader Name: Douglas Reinhard
CodeName: Dirt Renegade
Most notorious rebel among mech pilots, he usually does not follow orders from anyone. He would rather tend to do things his way or no way at all. Though rumors say this pilot is a pirate from the past era, he would be a cunning ally to the house: Liao. At most times you better watch your back, since his reputation to turn against you at any time is a great possibility. He used to be an Elite pilot in the Inner Sphere wars (Succesion Wars) before the Clan arrived and used to wage war against house: Davion and Federated Suns under the 4th Regimental Battalion of Commander Santillana. Additional rumors claims that he was an underground mercenary paid and beefed up by house: Kurita since most of his units are of these make. They also say, he was seen dealing with Special commando forces that would infiltrate drop ships and steal the mechs aboard it. Douglas Reinhard was sent to trial on these accusations and was dismissed due to lack of evidence to support the allegations against him.
Through the Fire and Flames
I've seen Battletech in comic book ads when I was a kid. I learned more about it when I was in college and a buddy of mine, Alvin Pineda, showed me a collection of rulebooks and sourcebooks for Battletech. Being a traditional D&D DM/player at the time, those books looked very technical and tedious to play. After almost a decade of being face-first in miniature wargaming, looking back at these books and rules, this time via another buddy, Ryan Tamayo, getting into Battletech seemed like a sweet alternative to my other miniature wargames.
So with Battletech general information printouts in hand, I went over to Ryan's place (which is a convenient walking distance away from my current place of employment) one evening and opted for an introductory game. Ryan knows I've been gaming a lot of 40K and WARMACHINE, so he skipped most of the basics. A few days back, he showed me his collection of Battletech miniatures, and I told him I would want to play with an Atlas. And so last night, he arrayed his miniatures for me to choose from (the boxed set Atlas was already an auto-include for me).
After the first round of movement
Since it's the standard 200 tonnage and 4-mech maximum, I'd be choosing at most two models to fight with my Atlas (which was Type AS7-C) . I looked at the record sheets he had printed out and chose haphazardly. I chose a Dragon and a Panther (Type PNT-9R) initially. Ryan then showed me his newly painted Catapult (Type CPLT-C4), which looked like a Madcat (another old favorite). I learned that the Madcat was indeed based on the Catapult and another Mech, so I chose it over the Dragon since they were the same pointage.
Ryan's force consisted of an Awesome, a Trebuchet and an Axeman.
The actual game is made up of several phases, each of which is played out in a me-go-you-go fashion. You also roll 2D6 for initiative at the start of every round, which is perfectly acceptable for me. Line of sight was very forgiving, as facing is clearly defined by the models' bases and you can swivel the mech's upper torso, too, for better targeting. I didn't get to see any melee action, but that's alright. There's always next time anyway.
Ryan figuring what actions his Awesome will undertake
Targets and weapons usage were declared (for heat management), and were resolved simultaneously. Some mechs' weaponry have ammunition like LRM's which you have to mark down the record sheets. And of course there's heat, caused by whatever actions you assign your mechs to do. I played pretty conservatively the whole game, staying away from gaining too much heat.
I got to roll the first ever Critical Hit for BTPH! I got to break Ryan's Trebuchet's foot actuator with combined shooting from my Atlas and my Panther. They both got some more critical hits in, all on the same Trebuchet, but I forgot where the hits went.
"That's a dead Trebuchet right there!"
In the end, I got to down his Trebuchet. It was a demo game so I'm sure Ryan just left it there to be shot down to bits.
My Atlas had its left and center torso scratched, along with some parts of its right arm.
My Catapult's left leg got shot to bits. We decided to go for a critical effect for its leg, just so we can see how it should affect the game. It got its foot actuator damaged, so it had its movement reduced on our last two rounds.
The Trebuchet on top of the hill, as seen by an Atlas
My Panther suffered heavy damage. It was the target of both Ryan's Awesome and Axeman for the majority of the game. My Panther had its left arm completely obliterated (good thing the PPC wasn't there). The whole left leg armor was also gone, plus heavy damage on its left and right torso armor.
All in all, the game left a very good impression on me. I'm definitely getting that starter box now (so I can demo it later on, too, to others). I'm going to have to change my faction preference though. I'm supposed to be Wolf's Dragoons, but seeing our starting lineup didn't have all the major houses covered, I decided to go for one of them instead. I'm now going to play House Steiner of the Lyran Commonwealth (change reflect on our roster here).
Photos by Ian Navarro
So with Battletech general information printouts in hand, I went over to Ryan's place (which is a convenient walking distance away from my current place of employment) one evening and opted for an introductory game. Ryan knows I've been gaming a lot of 40K and WARMACHINE, so he skipped most of the basics. A few days back, he showed me his collection of Battletech miniatures, and I told him I would want to play with an Atlas. And so last night, he arrayed his miniatures for me to choose from (the boxed set Atlas was already an auto-include for me).
After the first round of movement
Since it's the standard 200 tonnage and 4-mech maximum, I'd be choosing at most two models to fight with my Atlas (which was Type AS7-C) . I looked at the record sheets he had printed out and chose haphazardly. I chose a Dragon and a Panther (Type PNT-9R) initially. Ryan then showed me his newly painted Catapult (Type CPLT-C4), which looked like a Madcat (another old favorite). I learned that the Madcat was indeed based on the Catapult and another Mech, so I chose it over the Dragon since they were the same pointage.
Ryan's force consisted of an Awesome, a Trebuchet and an Axeman.
The actual game is made up of several phases, each of which is played out in a me-go-you-go fashion. You also roll 2D6 for initiative at the start of every round, which is perfectly acceptable for me. Line of sight was very forgiving, as facing is clearly defined by the models' bases and you can swivel the mech's upper torso, too, for better targeting. I didn't get to see any melee action, but that's alright. There's always next time anyway.
Ryan figuring what actions his Awesome will undertake
Targets and weapons usage were declared (for heat management), and were resolved simultaneously. Some mechs' weaponry have ammunition like LRM's which you have to mark down the record sheets. And of course there's heat, caused by whatever actions you assign your mechs to do. I played pretty conservatively the whole game, staying away from gaining too much heat.
I got to roll the first ever Critical Hit for BTPH! I got to break Ryan's Trebuchet's foot actuator with combined shooting from my Atlas and my Panther. They both got some more critical hits in, all on the same Trebuchet, but I forgot where the hits went.
"That's a dead Trebuchet right there!"
In the end, I got to down his Trebuchet. It was a demo game so I'm sure Ryan just left it there to be shot down to bits.
My Atlas had its left and center torso scratched, along with some parts of its right arm.
My Catapult's left leg got shot to bits. We decided to go for a critical effect for its leg, just so we can see how it should affect the game. It got its foot actuator damaged, so it had its movement reduced on our last two rounds.
The Trebuchet on top of the hill, as seen by an Atlas
My Panther suffered heavy damage. It was the target of both Ryan's Awesome and Axeman for the majority of the game. My Panther had its left arm completely obliterated (good thing the PPC wasn't there). The whole left leg armor was also gone, plus heavy damage on its left and right torso armor.
All in all, the game left a very good impression on me. I'm definitely getting that starter box now (so I can demo it later on, too, to others). I'm going to have to change my faction preference though. I'm supposed to be Wolf's Dragoons, but seeing our starting lineup didn't have all the major houses covered, I decided to go for one of them instead. I'm now going to play House Steiner of the Lyran Commonwealth (change reflect on our roster here).
Photos by Ian Navarro
Ehrason Iron Cavalry
Hauptmann Mercaddes Ehrason, Demoted to the rank of Hauptmann due to his lack of social finesse and the usual court bureaucracy, Ehrason never enjoyed kissing ass to rise up the ladder like some military leaders of the Lyran Commonwealth. Ehrason has been placed in charge of training and disciplining the more unrefined members of the soldiery - sons of nobility and military misfits. He has contributed significant victories for the Commonwealth, but are overshadowed when the bootlicking majority of the upper echelon make magnanimous even his smaller mistakes. He aims to be an example that the Lyran military can look up to - to avoid the foolish prancing about in the courts and seek to better one's own martial skills instead and by doing so, further the power of the Commonwealth.
Ehrason embodies the better aspects of Lyran Commonwealth fighting and tactics. He still favors the usage of assault mechs, and encourages it among members of his entrusted Iron Cavalry. His recent battles taught him to appreciate the usage of the traditional Commando and Phoenix Hawk mechs, that run alongside his massive AS7-S2 Atlas.
As of current writing, Ehrason is training and resupplying his recently broken lance, all members (excluding himself) perished in their last mission.
Members of Battletech Philippines
Here's our official roster as of current writing:
Friedrich Lopez
House Liao, Capellan Confederation
Henri Tecson
House Kurita, Draconis Combine
Ian "Kim" Navarro
House Steiner, Lyran Commonwealth
Lesther Calina
House Davion, Federated Suns
Ryan Tamayo
Gray Death Legion
Friedrich Lopez
House Liao, Capellan Confederation
Henri Tecson
House Kurita, Draconis Combine
Ian "Kim" Navarro
House Steiner, Lyran Commonwealth
Lesther Calina
House Davion, Federated Suns
Ryan Tamayo
Gray Death Legion
Free Worlds League BattleMechs
Originally posted in Battletech Wiki. This is a listing of all BattleMechs manufactured within the Free Worlds League.
E
F
H
I
P
Y
Capellan Confederation BattleMechs
Originally posted in Battletech Wiki. This is a listing of all BattleMechs manufactured within the Capellan Confederation.
A
B
C
D
F
H
J
K
L
M
P
R
S
T
V
Y
Draconis Combine BattleMechs
Originally posted in Battletech Wiki. This is a listing of all BattleMechs manufactured within the Draconis Combine.
A
B
C
D
F
G
H
J
K
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
V
W
Federated Suns BattleMechs
Originally posted in Battletech Wiki. This is a listing of all BattleMechs manufactured within the Federated Suns.
A
B
C
E
F
H
J
L
N
O
P
R
S
T
V
W
Lyran Alliance BattleMechs
Originally posted on Battletech Wiki
This is a listing of all BattleMechs manufactured within the Lyran Alliance. Not all of the listed BattleMechs are exclusively manufactured or exclusively used within the Lyran realm only. However, certain variants of some 'Mechs may be Lyran exclusive. The list does further not include BattleMechs that have been greatly imported (e.g. the Avatar, Penetrator or Awesome'Mechs); nevertheless, considering their numbers in service, they are also very common in the LAAF.
This listing tries to list the manufacturing situation roughly around the 3067-3072. BattleMechs that have been manufactured before in the Lyran Alliance but stopped production (because of e.g. war, territorial losses or economical reasons) until 3067 are not included. Due to the Jihad, even some 'Mechs now included in the list are not continuously available. For instance, during the Jihad J.B. BattleMechs Incorporated stopped manufacturing the Dragon Fire'Mech and all other production lines in the Lyran realm.
References
This is a listing of all BattleMechs manufactured within the Lyran Alliance. Not all of the listed BattleMechs are exclusively manufactured or exclusively used within the Lyran realm only. However, certain variants of some 'Mechs may be Lyran exclusive. The list does further not include BattleMechs that have been greatly imported (e.g. the Avatar, Penetrator or Awesome'Mechs); nevertheless, considering their numbers in service, they are also very common in the LAAF.
This listing tries to list the manufacturing situation roughly around the 3067-3072. BattleMechs that have been manufactured before in the Lyran Alliance but stopped production (because of e.g. war, territorial losses or economical reasons) until 3067 are not included. Due to the Jihad, even some 'Mechs now included in the list are not continuously available. For instance, during the Jihad J.B. BattleMechs Incorporated stopped manufacturing the Dragon Fire'Mech and all other production lines in the Lyran realm.
References
- Handbook: House Steiner
- Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade
- Technical Readout: 3075
A
B
- Barghest (Heavy, 70t)
- Battle Hawk (Light, 30t)
- BattleMaster (Assault, 85t)
- Berserker (Assault, 100t)
- Black Hawk-KU (Heavy, 60t)
- Blitzkrieg (Medium, 50t)
- Bushwacker (Medium, 55t)
C
- Caesar (Heavy, 70t)
- Cestus (Heavy, 65t)
- Chameleon (Medium, 50t)
- Clint (Medium, 40t)
- Cobra (BattleMech, Medium, 45t)
- Commando (Light, 25t)
- Crossbow (BattleMech, Heavy, 60t)
D
- Dart (Light, 25t)
- Defiance (BattleMech, Heavy, 75t)
- Devastator (Assault, 100t)
- Dragon Fire (Heavy, 75t)
E
F
- Fafnir (Assault, 100t)
- Falconer (Heavy, 75t)
- Firefly (Light, 30t)
- Firestarter (Light, 35t)
- Firestarter Omni (Medium, 45t)
- Flashman (Heavy, 75t)
G
H
- Hatchetman (Medium, 45t)
- Hauptmann (Assault, 95t)
- Highlander (Assault, 90t)
- Hollander (Light, 35t)
- Hunchback (Medium, 50t)
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
- Salamander (BattleMech, Assault, 80t)
- Scarabus (Light, 30t)
- Scorpion (BattleMech, Medium, 55t)
- Sentinel (Medium, 40t)
- Spector (Light, 35t)
- Stalker (Assault, 85t)
- Starslayer (Medium, 50t)
- Stiletto (Light, 35t)
- Stinger (Light, 20t)
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
Welcome to Battletech Philippines
Welcome to Battletech Philippines!
We are a group of miniature wargaming hobbyists and enthusiasts who are now venturing into and/or revisiting the world of Classic Battletech. We'll be posting game results, works-in-progress, planned campaigns, pics and so on.
The blog is under heavy construction as of the moment so please do check back for news and updates. Thanks!
We are a group of miniature wargaming hobbyists and enthusiasts who are now venturing into and/or revisiting the world of Classic Battletech. We'll be posting game results, works-in-progress, planned campaigns, pics and so on.
The blog is under heavy construction as of the moment so please do check back for news and updates. Thanks!
Developer Notes
2009-06-25
2009-06-24
• Revised the masthead; added Madcat
• Added Links widget
• Revised footer copyright text
• Added Site Meter hit counter
2009-06-23
• Revised Google ads dimensions
• Added welcome note to sidebar
2009-06-22
• Registered battletechph.blogspot.com
• Coded in changes to new template (left-aligned Minima White)
• Designed masthead; credited source of image on blog footer
• Coded in Google ads and other widgets (Followers, Text Links)
• Changed default font, made it bigger for better readability
2009-06-24
• Revised the masthead; added Madcat
• Added Links widget
• Revised footer copyright text
• Added Site Meter hit counter
2009-06-23
• Revised Google ads dimensions
• Added welcome note to sidebar
2009-06-22
• Registered battletechph.blogspot.com
• Coded in changes to new template (left-aligned Minima White)
• Designed masthead; credited source of image on blog footer
• Coded in Google ads and other widgets (Followers, Text Links)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
