Payn;s Ponderings@ Battletech General Discussions

[TheHand]

The Solaris Tournament has a lot to it! You start as a rookie mechwarrior with 3 mill credits. Basically gets you a light mech. They have a wide variety to choose from (Though clan stuff is very expensive and hard to get). You earn fame and character points by landing hits on turrets, targets, other players mechs. As you collect credits, you can buy abilities and other mechs. It's a blast!

Oh, that's really creative! I like how it has an advancement system but doesn't lock out new players.

Recently I've only played small games with friends (diving into the rpg Mechwarrior: Destiny a bit now), but back in the late 90's I ran a casual tournament we called the "Junkyard." Everyone brought in 2 Mechs (Inner Sphere only), one had to be a Medium, the other Heavy. Then you paired off against 2 others.

The winner got to repair basic things like armor, internal structure, but if you lost any components you had to strip them off the salvage of your defeated foe. Alternatively, you could try to salvage one of their Mechs or replace equipment between them. When everybody got to the semi-finals and final rounds, everybody was fighting together with these frankenstein'd beasts held together by chewing gum and duct tape. Hence "The Junkyard." For the winner we bought a generic sports trophy, pulled off the sportsball player, and glued on broken Ral Partha miniatures (repainted gold).

 

[TheHand]

We kind of intended it to be a bit of fun satire at the 'real' tournaments going on around us at the same convention, where fiercely determined players were running math formulas to calculate the most Battle Value efficient designs (4 goshawks were the winner that year).

 

[TheHand]

I HATE FPS games, excepting lightgun games.
it's really damped my tolerance for finishing the 3d zeldas. Breath of the Wild was so thematic that I got absorbed by the puzzles, but the TPS factor was just a general problem.

Seconding on the HBS BattleTech game. It's turn-based, top down, and while it's not a simulation of the Tabletop Game (like say, MegaMek is), it really captures the strategy and spirit of the original imho.

And if you want to really go insane, you can track down the 4GB "RogueTech" mod and expand HBS' game from just the periphery into the whole Inner Sphere, plus the Clans, plus even Dark Ages stuff if you opt in (not for me, but it's there!).

 

[TheHand]

Favorite Four Mechs, no particular order, 1984 rules:

RLF-3N RIFLEMAN.
ARC-2R ARCHER
MAD-3R MARAUDER
PXH-1 PHOENIX HAWK

Those Macross designs are timeless beauties.
I'm also a bit partial to the aesthetics of the "Dougram" Mechs (Shadow Hawk, Griffin, Scorpion, Wolverine, Thunderbolt, Goliath, Battlemaster).

 

[payn]

I recently finished the Warrior Trilogy. Was ok at times, cheesy at others, but overall I enjoyed them. I think they would make better scripts for a TV series, but wont hold my breath.

That said, what other BT novels to do folks really like?

 

[TheHand]

I recently finished the Warrior Trilogy. Was ok at times, cheesy at others, but overall I enjoyed them. I think they would make better scripts for a TV series, but wont hold my breath.

That said, what other BT novels to do folks really like?

The Blood of Kerensky trilogy would be the natural follow up!

 

[Mannahnin]

I recently finished the Warrior Trilogy. Was ok at times, cheesy at others, but overall I enjoyed them. I think they would make better scripts for a TV series, but wont hold my breath.

That said, what other BT novels to do folks really like?

I seem to recall enjoying most of the ones prior to the Clan invasion. Events in The Sword and the Dagger get referenced briefly in the Warrior trilogy. Heir to the Dragon gives us a look inside the Draconis Combine/Kurita and some sympathetic characters in that faction, as does Wolves on the Border to some extent, also centering the book on the much-loved Wolf's Dragoons merc company. I definitely recommend reading these two (or at least WotB) prior to Blood of Kerensky trilogy. It's been a bunch of years, but that's what my memory tells me.

Overall I think I found Stackpole the best of the BT writers, with Charette not bad at all. The Grey Death Legion books were ok but lesser. All of these give great context for the game world and fill out the world and setting a lot and make it feel more alive and real. For anyone into the 3025 period, all these novels prior to Blood of Kerensky and the Clan invasion are invaluable for getting into the setting.

 

[dagger]

 

[dagger]

From Pax Unplugged

 

[MGibster]

I bought the Inner Sphere Direct Fire Lance last week because it comes with an Atlas.