Battletech - Also known as Trannytech

[Corn Flakes]

Hello again, lads. I remembered I have an account here and I'm still catching up. Has there been any discussion on the new rules revision? Consensus among my group is basically mostly good or neutral, with a few that made us go "okay, but why?".

Being unable to change any hard stats (tonnage, range, damage, heat, etc) gave them a very narrow design space to work with, so I'm surprised they did as much as they did there.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

Hello again, lads. I remembered I have an account here and I'm still catching up. Has there been any discussion on the new rules revision? Consensus among my group is basically mostly good or neutral, with a few that made us go "okay, but why?".

Being unable to change any hard stats (tonnage, range, damage, heat, etc) gave them a very narrow design space to work with, so I'm surprised they did as much as they did there.

The general feeling I've gotten from my friends who play BT is that the changes are overall good. I think they might be a little TOO good in a couple cases, but I'd want to play some matches out to test that theory.

 

[BlackDragoons]

Hello again, lads. I remembered I have an account here and I'm still catching up. Has there been any discussion on the new rules revision? Consensus among my group is basically mostly good or neutral, with a few that made us go "okay, but why?".

Being unable to change any hard stats (tonnage, range, damage, heat, etc) gave them a very narrow design space to work with, so I'm surprised they did as much as they did there.

I like it.

Buffing AC's is nice. Having them eat an critical hit and still work is pretty cool.
Getting rid of Ultra jamming chance is also extremely nice.
I've seen people huff about the ammo explosion rule but honestly its a nice change. It still has a huge impact when it does happen but depending on the weight or if it has Case or Case 2 can change how things go.
Getting rid of asphalt skidding rule is also cool, we never really used that rule as the extra dice rolls tend to bog games down, even more when you actually do skid and weird shit happens.

 

[Professor Donger]

I've seen people huff about the ammo explosion rule but honestly its a nice change. It still has a huge impact when it does happen but depending on the weight or if it has Case or Case 2 can change how things go.

It's also one of the rules that can be easily ignored if the table wants to play with old rules as well.

I think a lot of people just forget that Battletech is a pretty casual game and flexible in what rules you play with.

 

[Corn Flakes]

Getting rid of asphalt skidding rule is also cool, we never really used that rule as the extra dice rolls tend to bog games down, even more when you actually do skid and weird shit happens.

Skidding was always weird. I get why it's there, and it's hilarious with hover vehicles, but the results were often time-consuming to calculate, and also counter-intuitive. We might have gotten the rules wrong, but I'm pretty sure at some point we had a Falcon moving a longer distance than its actual straight line speed due to a turn leading into a skid, and that just ain't right.

I think a lot of people just forget that Battletech is a pretty casual game and flexible in what rules you play with.

Definitely, and a lot of tables are heavily houseruled. Hell, their changes to the water movement rules were the same as my group's house rules, because nobody liked playing Chumbawamba whenever they had to cross more than a couple hexes of water.

 

[BlackDragoons]

I think a lot of people just forget that Battletech is a pretty casual game and flexible in what rules you play with.

Its one of the things I like about Battletech is that you can just play with the bare minimum or you can go full wierdo if you want.

Another thing i forgot to mention was the MRM changes which was sorely needed. I'll take a negative to clusters versus +1 to shooting. Honestly never made sense that a weapon that was supposed to be easy to use had that much of a negative penalty.

 

[Snekposter]

Being unable to change any hard stats (tonnage, range, damage, heat, etc) gave them a very narrow design space to work with, so I'm surprised they did as much as they did there.

Changing hard stats opens up a ton of worms with mech designs and the overall combat, so them just scratching those off and going "AC/10? Yeah, still 10 damage, and always will be" is IMO the only way to do something like this.

As to my own views, never got much into the TT game but considering I've bitched on here before about how shit autocannons are, those changes alone are well deserved. Lasers were already ahead of ballistics before DHS, so the Ultras and specialized ammo getting much needed buffs is only a good thing IMO, let alone the MRM's which to my knowledge have been almost universally despised as worthless ever since their introduction due to that accuracy penalty.

 

[Bassomatic]

Its one of the things I like about Battletech is that you can just play with the bare minimum or you can go full wierdo if you want.

Another thing i forgot to mention was the MRM changes which was sorely needed. I'll take a negative to clusters versus +1 to shooting. Honestly never made sense that a weapon that was supposed to be easy to use had that much of a negative penalty.

Well said, what does Apollo do now tho?

I'm looking forward to all sorts of alt ammo use, be it AC or missiles, I've always really had too much fun with FASCAM SMOKE etc. I almost want HVAC to be improved because such trash, legit one of the worst weapons in the game, up there with RE lasers.

I have too many funny stories to see skidding go away, nothing but laughs or rage. I mean it's kinda dumb but I guess I will miss a pristine Zeus sliding going head first into a multi floor basement and dead. Shit was peak CBT.

 

[AbduluCthuluZulu]

Getting rid of Ultra jamming chance is also extremely nice.

This has been something I have been arguing in favor of for a very long time. From what I've tested so far, UACs now feel strong enough to fit their BV cost, can actually compete with other tech from their era, and overall just feel more fun and satisfying to use.

 

[Corn Flakes]

This has been something I have been arguing in favor of for a very long time. From what I've tested so far, UACs now feel strong enough to fit their BV cost, can actually compete with other tech from their era, and overall just feel more fun and satisfying to use.

We were joking about it while doing a test match with the new rules when they were first proposed.

"Yeah, Autocannons were totally fine. All it took to fix them was a ~50% average damage buff!"

 

[BlackDragoons]

Well said, what does Apollo do now tho?

From what I saw the Apollo system will add a saturation mode, but beyond that no clue until August.

"Yeah, Autocannons were totally fine. All it took to fix them was a ~50% average damage buff!"

Before the change I never really ultrad my Ultras. The chance of forever jamming my guns for just a 41.67% chance to do double damage...Na.

The only time I ever did was when i did aimed shots with the Cluster hitter because boy howdy dealing 40 damage to one side is fucking funny and worth the risk.

 

[Moja Zemlja]

I almost want HVAC to be improved because such trash, legit one of the worst weapons in the game

I'd just remove the explosion chance and give it a -2 to-hit like pulse and call it a day, still a questionably better side grade than an AC+precision ammo but it would at least give it more of a niche as a real sniper weapon.

 

[Corn Flakes]

Before the change I never really ultrad my Ultras. The chance of forever jamming my guns for just a 41.67% chance to do double damage...Na.

Same here. The chance of losing the weapon entirely, without recourse, made any double shot far too risky. If it had been a "the weapon jams and spends the next shooting phase clearing the jam" situation like RACs, then it would have been fine. So I'm not shedding any tears for Ultra jams going away. Good fucking riddance.

ACs being a bit more tanky is a nice bonus, too. I've had far too many situations where a floating TAC turned my Victor's main weapon into a 14-ton paperweight.

I'd just remove the explosion chance and give it a -2 to-hit like pulse and call it a day, still a questionably better side grade than an AC+precision ammo but it would at least give it more of a niche as a real sniper weapon.

I like that one. It doesn't infringe into LBX's to-hit bonuses because those are for crit-hunting, and it gives HVACs a niche ACs just don't have. Because I'm sorry, AC/2s might be able to hit someone across the map, but a sniper that hits like a spitball is just a waste of tonnage. Letting an HVAC/10 hit on +2 out to 15 hexes would make a compelling argument for finally mounting the damn things.

 

[EscapeVorkuta]

Playing the Clan Invasion DLC on Mechwarrior 5 Mercs... These fucking guys are kicking my ass.

 

[BlackDragoons]

Playing the Clan Invasion DLC on Mechwarrior 5 Mercs... These fucking guys are kicking my ass.

Welcome to the life of being an Inner Sphere Merc during the Clan Invasion, your complimentary mug will be givin to you once you claim your first clan salvage.

Same here. The chance of losing the weapon entirely, without recourse, made any double shot far too risky. If it had been a "the weapon jams and spends the next shooting phase clearing the jam" situation like RACs, then it would have been fine. So I'm not shedding any tears for Ultra jams going away. Good fucking riddance.

I remember the last time I had ultrad my ACs was with the Kodian and its UAC/20, I need a 3 to hit and decide why not sounds like an easy shot. So i decided to double shot the thing.

Rolled double 1s, never again.

 

[The Bogwater Flows On]

Really glad the people I played with liked the Battlemech Manual, so unjamming an Ultra was possible. Now, it's not even needed, which I prefer.

I like a lot of the new rules, but feel I'm going to keep a few from the older days.

My hope for the new rulebook is for the formatting to not be so shit I need to check 4 different locations to get the basics of specific rules.

 

[HTTP Error 404]

Random thought: How long until the copyright expires on the original rulebooks and we can see some smartass (Razorfist or Blaine Pardoe, maybe both working together actually) release a modern hardback royalty free version of the Battletech rules?

 

[Phillip Green]

Random thought: How long until the copyright expires on the original rulebooks and we can see some smartass (Razorfist or Blaine Pardoe, maybe both working together actually) release a modern hardback royalty free version of the Battletech rules?

It's going to be a while, at least in the US. Thanks to Disney, corporate copyright lasts for like 90 years, so you're looking at the 2070's.

 

[EscapeVorkuta]

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Welcome to the life of being an Inner Sphere Merc during the Clan Invasion, your complimentary mug will be givin to you once you claim your first clan salvage.


I remember the last time I had ultrad my ACs was with the Kodian and its UAC/20, I need a 3 to hit and decide why not sounds like an easy shot. So i decided to double shot the thing.

Rolled double 1s, never again.

I took a Timber Wolf as salvage but I sold it since the parts were astronomical or hard to come by, further more it netted me like 30 million credits. I knew I shoulda fucking kept it.