Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

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Zarathud
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zarathud »

Sniper or terrain boosts have little synergy with my Mech. The 1 Gunnery would be nice.

But 3 PPCs with Improved Criticals? On Anything?

That sounds ... Awesome!

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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zenn7 »

Zarathud wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2019 3:19 am Sniper or terrain boosts have little synergy with my Mech. The 1 Gunnery would be nice.

But 3 PPCs with Improved Criticals? On Anything?

That sounds ... Awesome!
Nick (or anyone who knows) - does criticals with a PPC mean anything more than it does with lighter weapons? A crits a crit? More weapons would actually be better for more chances to crit? Or is that not the case?

Not questioning Zarathud's decision - I thought it was a toss up between that and gunnery - we get a lot of mileage out of criticals it seems like. Sniper didn't seem useless though, but probably not the best of the 3. You may not stay at long range all the time, but iirc correct, range on a PPC is 18 hexes, there are 3 range categories, evenly dividing your range by 3 (1-6 short, no penalty, 7-12 medium -2, 13-18 long -4). Having the -2/-4 at 7-18 hexes is what sniper would do if I am correct. That is not as good as an all around 1 point in gunnery in my opinion (unless you consistently fight at long range), but it's not that bad (unless you consistently fight at short range).
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by LordMortis »

Zenn7 wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2019 9:23 am Nick (or anyone who knows) - does criticals with a PPC mean anything more than it does with lighter weapons? A crits a crit? More weapons would actually be better for more chances to crit? Or is that not the case?
In old BattleTech this was the case. A PPC is old BattleTech tech, so I see no reason why this would change. Crits and to a lesser extent head shots were a reason I would sometimes take insanely fast light mechs with as many MGs as I could. Get behind them, always stay running, shoot into the rear armor for many 2 (and 12s) as you could. My memory is you could get a light mech up to as much a run of 11 (or even 12 with *no* armor), wherein you could literally get your move 5 (really 6) defense bonus hexes with only a "run" penalty but stay end up in the same hex with a different facing.

I was pretty much out of BT by the time Clan Mechs became part of the game where so much changed that there very well could be changes to hit tables with different techs to which I am wholly oblivious.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

Zenn7 wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2019 9:23 am
Zarathud wrote: Tue Dec 17, 2019 3:19 am Sniper or terrain boosts have little synergy with my Mech. The 1 Gunnery would be nice.

But 3 PPCs with Improved Criticals? On Anything?

That sounds ... Awesome!
Nick (or anyone who knows) - does criticals with a PPC mean anything more than it does with lighter weapons? A crits a crit? More weapons would actually be better for more chances to crit? Or is that not the case?

Not questioning Zarathud's decision - I thought it was a toss up between that and gunnery - we get a lot of mileage out of criticals it seems like. Sniper didn't seem useless though, but probably not the best of the 3. You may not stay at long range all the time, but iirc correct, range on a PPC is 18 hexes, there are 3 range categories, evenly dividing your range by 3 (1-6 short, no penalty, 7-12 medium -2, 13-18 long -4). Having the -2/-4 at 7-18 hexes is what sniper would do if I am correct. That is not as good as an all around 1 point in gunnery in my opinion (unless you consistently fight at long range), but it's not that bad (unless you consistently fight at short range).
Going by Nick's description it sounds like (again using the PPC) the to hit penalty would be -1 at medium range (7-12 hexes) and -2 at long range (13 - 18 hexes), I think? In which case it would be worse than gunnery at short range (because it would give no benefit) the same at medium range (+1 to hit) and better at long range (+2 to hit instead of +1). So the gunnery would probably be better overall unless he's planning on consistently staying at long range.

I would tend to think of improved criticals as being best paired with a mech loadout with lots of smaller weapons (like the infinite MG models that Mortis is referring to, or a loadout with lots of MGs / medium lasers / small lasers to maximize one's chances of getting a devastating critical hit. The probability of additional crits might not be too material if it winds up only getting applied to one or two PPC hits (especially when you factor in that the PPCs deal enough damage that they might be breaching armor and generating crits anyway).

I guess with these I tend to just default to boosting gunnery (and secondarily piloting) because gunnery is useful in essentially all situations.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zarathud »

If I remember right, making a Critical roll requires breaching armor plus internal damage. A lot of MGs generate a bunch of pain once you've breached armor as you ding up components. If all 3 PPCs hit the same location, there's not much need for the Critical because you're smashing up internals badly anyway. But if the PPCs don't cluster and punch through the armor on several locations, I think you get to roll Critical several times. Extending internal damage to finish off components would permit more effective knock-outs of the enemy.

If I'm getting the mechanics wrong, then gunnery is the better choice. It can never hurt to hit more often, but I think I already have a PPC bonus and am hitting the shots I'm making. It's just that the reports are "shearing off armor" rather than "enemy down."

Long story short -- hit harder if I can, then hit more often.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

The Human TRO ability adds a 1 to the 2d6 when you roll to check if a critical hit occurred (either via through-armor crit, internal damage or some other effect). Since the target number is 8+ normally, that takes off a significant chunk of that bell curve. PPCs (and, uh, kicks from Awesomes) blast through armor pretty easily, so it's not a bad idea.

August 17, 3043
Designated Search Area
Moore, Skye March

While our aerospace fighters and the Moonraker burn for the pirate point, our examination of retrieved sensor data from militia patrols gives us a couple of areas to search. For the most part, it's in territory controlled by the separatists. We deploy a company of mechs to search some hot spots.

Beta-Hunter doesn't turn up any pirates, but they do come across a separatist supply convoy, which kind of blunders into our dropship. The Sparrow isn't even remotely ready for lift-off, so we'll have to fight it out. On the plus side, we've got a militia buddy in a Panther, and this will be a great time to check out the functionality on our royal Zephyr hovertank. Other than that, Beta-Hunter is (currently) a Guillotine, a Stalker, Wolf in an Orion and Hyena Mk II in an upgraded Archer.

The convoy is defended by a reinforced medium mech lance and several hovercraft outriders, plus some light armor - we shouldn't have much trouble with it.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
Hyena holds fire, even though a little APC with an LRM rack mounted on top is technically in range. The damn thing is just moving too fast and there's no way those LRMs are going to land. Predictably, the APC's missiles fall short.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
Wolf looks forward to engaging a fast-moving Savannah Master that zips in to attack our three heavy mechs to the north, but, as the Orion turns to face the hovercraft, the separatist driver screws up navigating around a rock sticking out of the lake and winds up flipping over before sinking.

The fast-moving hover APC with the LRM rack crashes into the militia Panther's leg and disintegrates.

"Huh. Well, saves me some ammo, I guess." Wolf comments.

The two forces exchange large amounts of LRMs, but most don't hit. The only exception is a separatist Drillson, which lands several hits on our Stalker without breaching armor. That and a couple of LRMs pinging off Hyena's right leg.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
Well, that's a weird-looking Phoenix Hawk.

"Warbook's not finding the variant." Hyena reports.

Our Guillotine fires lasers at the incoming mech. It's pretty shiny, although it gets a little less shiny when a laser melts armor off the right torso.

Our dropship opens fire, knocking out a Condor's fans. This disables the hovercraft but also causes most of Hyena's shots to miss. The Drillson continues closing in but takes some fire from Wolf and the dropship's short-range weapons, rattling the crew a bit.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
Wolf moves the Orion through a patch of woods, ignoring for a second the hovercraft swarming by, then rotates it left, targeting a Hunchback climbing up the gradual slope between it and our dropship. A tone indicates lock with the LRMs, and our mechwarrior squeezes the trigger, firing a fifteen missile salvo. Only six hit, blowing little chunks off center of mass. Except for one little LRM, which exploits a minor hole left by its five bretheren and hits something a little more substantial - its relatively small "piff" is followed by an internal explosion guts the Hunchback completely.

"Whoa. That's some LRM." Wolf remarks.

Our Union puts its short range weapons to good use as hovercraft close in and pepper it. The Drillson disappears in a disco show of laser and PPC fire, while the Maxim manages to avoid the worst of it.

The Guillotine takes the left arm off a Quasit that runs past, divesting the mech of its SRM launcher.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
One of the convoy mechs gets a little too close to the Union and takes about thirty LRMs across the front. Arms and actuators go flying. The Sparrow also sinks that annoying little Maxim that's been zipping around and detonates the Quasit's LRM ammo with a PPC shot. No salvage on that one - especially not when our Guillotine's laser detonates the machine gun ammo as well.

A Pegasus hovertank zips up to Hyena, throwing our mechwarrior's aim off a little with an SRM salvo, but eats several lasers anyway, briefly crashing against a rock sticking out of the lake.

Wolf continues making good use of the Orion's LRM/15 rack, picking a Vedette out of a cluster of tanks to the southeast and disabling it.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
We just about have this wrapped up, except a couple of flights of fighters show up, angling for a run on our dropship. We'll have to deal with these as well before things calm down.

One of the fighters zips in and unloads on our Stalker with rocket launcher pods, scoring a head shot but failing to breach armor otherwise.

Hyena and the unusual Phoenix Hawk design engage in a brawl, firing ineffective shots at each other before closing to melee range. The Pixie gives Hyena a solid kick and receives a punch in return, which it blocks with the right arm but armor still comes off.

The other fighters zero in on our dropship, blasting away with rocket pods and standard weaponry. The Union returns fire, evaporating one fighter, but takes some damage to its docking collar. Irrelevant for now, but will need to be fixed before we can leave.

A Centurion closes range to Wolf and the Stalker, the two of our mechs combining fire to knock the 50-tonner to the ground.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
Our Panther buddy jumps into a crowd of tanks to the southeast, backed up by the gunnery crew of our dropship, who blow away a Vedette and inflict severe damage on a Meteor fighter, disabling its engine and sending it crashing into the ground. The Panther blasts the armor off the front of a previously damaged Vedette with an SRM salvo.

Hyena begins going after the Phoenix Hawk but turns the Archer skyward instead, firing at a Defender II that makes a strafing run and damages our mech's shoulder joint. The conventional fighter is peppered with LRMs, taking severe damage. The Phoenix Hawk capitalizes on our mechwarrior's distraction, opening up with the large pulse laser to take off a significant amount of armor. Still, our mechwarrior's attack against the Defender II is fatal, causing the pilot to lose control and turn his aircraft into a lawn dart.

Our Guillotine runs up to a Pegasus and Wolverine hiding in the lake below, sinking the Pegasus, although not before the hovercraft gets some SRMs onto the cockpit, rattling our mechwarrior's cage a little.

Wolf and our Stalker continue working on the Centurion as it gets up. Wolf's LRMs open up a breach in the right leg, which is exploited by the Stalker's LRMs, separating the limb at the hip.

With the bulk of their force crippled (an Enforcer, Wolverine and Phoenix Hawk and Griffin are still intact, but with only a single Hunter for a screen), and half their aircraft shot down, the remaining units in the supply convoy decide to call it quits. We're a little beat up and have a dropship to guard, so we don't pursue.

The militia will make out reasonably well here, they're going to get a legged Centurion with a disabled AC/10 and some waterlogged hovercraft. Plus assorted debris from crashed aircraft and demolished industrial mechs. The exchange payout is 1.7M C-Bills.

That Phoenix Hawk was something else, though. We request a data update from the HPG, and it's a serious implementation of Star League-era lostech on the part of the Federated Commonwealth. Heat sinks upgraded from singles to doubles, ferro-fibrous armor, large pulse laser, anti-missile system, XL engine, MASC for speed bursts. And CASE to prevent all that ammo from blowing the mech to bits. Although an ammo explosion in the left torso will still disable the mech due to the XL engine, but at least it'd be recoverable. Drazzil waves a hand in front of AWS' face and gets no results as the mechwarrior stares at the technical readout, barely able to avoid drooling.

Too bad about the exchange salvage, although that's one mech we might be tempted to risk a contract breach for. The fact that the separatists have this cutting-edge equipment is a little disturbing - it's unlikely that a random batch of rebels would be able to get a hold of cutting-edge tech like that.

This wasn't really the right place for the Zephyr, since we had pretty good lines of sight. The good news is that it avoided any damage at all. The bad news is that the gunners need some serious practice with the TAG laser, they didn't land a single "hit". On the plus side, the guardian ECM worked as advertised.

Fixing the docking collar on the Sparrow is going to be a bit of a bear, and we'll have to pull some favors with the militia to get the parts we need (luckily, we've bailed them out quite a few times over the last week and a half, even if we did let a bunch of reinforcement tanks land). Alternately, we could try to get the part on our own, but it'll probably have to be shipped from off-world so it'd take longer.

[] Call in a favor with the militia
[] Get the part on our own

Our Panther buddy requests our help in tracking down the retreating militia convoy. Beta-Hunter is a little bit beat up - the Stalker's cockpit integrity is not great (wouldn't want to take that mech into a vacuum currently), while the left shoulder joint on Hyena's Archer is completely jammed and will require extensive repairs. It's not as bad as it sounds as most of the Archer's weapons are in the torso, which, along with the rest of the mech (excepting the left arm) is in the green for armor. Wolf's Orion and the Guillotine just have minor armor damage and ammo expenditure. In addition to wanting to stand our mechs down for repairs, we're also aware that our other lances operating in the area may require backup, which we can't really provide if we go chasing off after separatist mechs.

[] Sorry buddy, you're on your own
[] Send the mechs in the green (Orion, Guillotine)
[] Send the mechs in the green and the Archer too
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Cylus Maxii »

[X] Call in a favor with the militia - why not try.

[X] Sorry buddy, you're on your own - also advise him it could easily lead to an ambush.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by AWS260 »

[X] Call in a favor with the militia

[X] Send the mechs in the green and the Archer too

Let's go get that Phoenix Hawk. For, uh, strategic reasons.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Stefan Stirzaker »

As per AWS above
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zenn7 »

Stefan Stirzaker wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:08 pm As per AWS above
Sure, then we'll have something to sink all our super-tech into (the repairs). :)
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Hyena »

Hell yeah, let's go get us some new-fangled old shit! I'm up for it, I gotta prove myself!
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by gbasden »

AWS260 wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:17 pm [X] Call in a favor with the militia

[X] Send the mechs in the green and the Archer too

Let's go get that Phoenix Hawk. For, uh, strategic reasons.
+1
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by gbasden »

gbasden wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 4:33 am
AWS260 wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:17 pm [X] Call in a favor with the militia

[X] Send the mechs in the green and the Archer too

Let's go get that Phoenix Hawk. For, uh, strategic reasons.
+1. After all, we *do* need to figure out where that lostech is coming from!
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results (last update):
Spoiler:
Isgrimnur: Piloting - unanimous
Zarathud: [player override] - Human TRO
Vote Results (this update):
Spoiler:
Call in militia favor for spare parts - unanimous
pass on tracking - 1
send in all available mechs - 5
The lieutenant in charge of Beta-Hunter lance, motivated in no small part by the possibility of salvaging a lostech Phoenix Hawk, sends the rest of Beta-Hunter off to chase down the retreating convoy and escorts. We also get the ball rolling for acquiring replacement parts to fix our dropship.

While Beta-Hunter tracks down the escaping convoy, the Moonraker's task force reaches the vicinity of the jump point. The militia's intel pays off, and we detect the radiation signature from the jumpship's arrival nearby. The Moonraker plays possum until the dropships attached to the incoming Invader detach and begin burning for planetary orbit, then we move in.

The Invader is not undefended, however, launching several waves of aerospace fighters from its small craft hangars. The first group intercepts the Moonraker and Alpha-Strike flight well before they reach any kind of range.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
Our spacecraft in formation, before the excrement hits the rotating device.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
Looks like they screwed up their intercept vector just a little bit and aren't going to quite be able to catch the Moonraker. Still, they come within weapons range. A Seydlitz takes multiple hits from the Moonraker's aft laser battery and from the Shilone's LRMs and large laser, and peels off, having lost its only armament.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
The heavies pursue while their light fighters peel off and fire up thrusters to come around for another pass. They do have some LRMs to lob at us, but we lob more and damage an Eagle, blowing out one of its medium lasers. Well, it'll be useful when we get into short range.

Round 4, 5:
Spoiler:
Image
The enemy heavies fall back a little bit, just out of weapons range. When a Hellcat closes in to maximum LRM range, it catches a barrage of LRMs, pockmarking its nose and left wing armor.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
Our Lightning gets pounded, sparks flying throughout the cockpit as multiple systems blow out. So do the separatist Hellcat and Eagle, both taking hits to the nose from our dropship's "forward" battery. The Moonraker is sacrificing acceleration for better firepower on the enemy force.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
The hostile heavies make a last-ditch attempt to get at our dropship. The Hellcat breaks up under fire from the Moonraker, while the Eagle and Shilone exchange fire, with the Eagle coming away worse, taking severe sensor damage.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
Image
The Eagle overshoots our dropship and will have to come around for another pass, although it may not have time before the rest of our fighters launch. The hostile Lucifer takes some serious damage from the Moonraker's weapon batteries, as does a Sparrowhawk coming in, losing a pair of laser barrels off its wings.

At this point, we're within engagement range of the jumpship and have taken out a medium, with a light and heavy having peeled off from the engagement due to major damage.

Sensors show it's got six light fighters and two heavies on point defense. We can have our dropship hang back and screen Beta-Strike flight from the remaining fighters here (one damaged Eagle heavy and five lights) while they take out the close escorts. This will result in a smaller dogfight but without support from our dropship.

Alternately, we can move in with our dropship and Alpha-Strike flight (the Lightning will have to navigate manually due to a completely busted avionics system). This will be a larger dogfight but we'll be able to better concentrate our firepower.

Regardless, we are to avoid damaging the jump ship at all costs.

[] Hang back with the dropship, let our second fighter flight clear out the escorts.
[] Move in with the dropship, giant furball.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by AWS260 »

NickAragua wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 5:48 pm Alternately, we can move in with our dropship and Alpha-Strike flight (the Lightning will have to navigate manually due to a completely busted avionics system). This will be a larger dogfight but we'll be able to better concentrate our firepower.

Regardless, we are to avoid damaging the jump ship at all costs.

[] Hang back with the dropship, let our second fighter flight clear out the escorts.
[X] Move in with the dropship, giant furball.
Image
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zarathud »

Cue the Flight of the Valkyries. Engage.
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein
"I don't stand by anything." - Trump
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St Andrews, 2/1/1867
“It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Drazzil »

NickAragua wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 5:48 pm Vote Results (last update):
Spoiler:
Isgrimnur: Piloting - unanimous
Zarathud: [player override] - Human TRO
Vote Results (this update):
Spoiler:
Call in militia favor for spare parts - unanimous
pass on tracking - 1
send in all available mechs - 5
The lieutenant in charge of Beta-Hunter lance, motivated in no small part by the possibility of salvaging a lostech Phoenix Hawk, sends the rest of Beta-Hunter off to chase down the retreating convoy and escorts. We also get the ball rolling for acquiring replacement parts to fix our dropship.

While Beta-Hunter tracks down the escaping convoy, the Moonraker's task force reaches the vicinity of the jump point. The militia's intel pays off, and we detect the radiation signature from the jumpship's arrival nearby. The Moonraker plays possum until the dropships attached to the incoming Invader detach and begin burning for planetary orbit, then we move in.

The Invader is not undefended, however, launching several waves of aerospace fighters from its small craft hangars. The first group intercepts the Moonraker and Alpha-Strike flight well before they reach any kind of range.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
Our spacecraft in formation, before the excrement hits the rotating device.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
Looks like they screwed up their intercept vector just a little bit and aren't going to quite be able to catch the Moonraker. Still, they come within weapons range. A Seydlitz takes multiple hits from the Moonraker's aft laser battery and from the Shilone's LRMs and large laser, and peels off, having lost its only armament.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
The heavies pursue while their light fighters peel off and fire up thrusters to come around for another pass. They do have some LRMs to lob at us, but we lob more and damage an Eagle, blowing out one of its medium lasers. Well, it'll be useful when we get into short range.

Round 4, 5:
Spoiler:
Image
The enemy heavies fall back a little bit, just out of weapons range. When a Hellcat closes in to maximum LRM range, it catches a barrage of LRMs, pockmarking its nose and left wing armor.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
Our Lightning gets pounded, sparks flying throughout the cockpit as multiple systems blow out. So do the separatist Hellcat and Eagle, both taking hits to the nose from our dropship's "forward" battery. The Moonraker is sacrificing acceleration for better firepower on the enemy force.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
The hostile heavies make a last-ditch attempt to get at our dropship. The Hellcat breaks up under fire from the Moonraker, while the Eagle and Shilone exchange fire, with the Eagle coming away worse, taking severe sensor damage.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
Image
The Eagle overshoots our dropship and will have to come around for another pass, although it may not have time before the rest of our fighters launch. The hostile Lucifer takes some serious damage from the Moonraker's weapon batteries, as does a Sparrowhawk coming in, losing a pair of laser barrels off its wings.

At this point, we're within engagement range of the jumpship and have taken out a medium, with a light and heavy having peeled off from the engagement due to major damage.

Sensors show it's got six light fighters and two heavies on point defense. We can have our dropship hang back and screen Beta-Strike flight from the remaining fighters here (one damaged Eagle heavy and five lights) while they take out the close escorts. This will result in a smaller dogfight but without support from our dropship.

Alternately, we can move in with our dropship and Alpha-Strike flight (the Lightning will have to navigate manually due to a completely busted avionics system). This will be a larger dogfight but we'll be able to better concentrate our firepower.

Regardless, we are to avoid damaging the jump ship at all costs.

[] Hang back with the dropship, let our second fighter flight clear out the escorts.
[] Move in with the dropship, giant furball.

[X] Hang back with the dropship, let our second fighter flight clear out the escorts.

Lets not overextend.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zenn7 »

AWS260 wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 7:14 pm
NickAragua wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 5:48 pm Alternately, we can move in with our dropship and Alpha-Strike flight (the Lightning will have to navigate manually due to a completely busted avionics system). This will be a larger dogfight but we'll be able to better concentrate our firepower.

Regardless, we are to avoid damaging the jump ship at all costs.

[] Hang back with the dropship, let our second fighter flight clear out the escorts.
[X] Move in with the dropship, giant furball.
Image
How can we not vote for this with that scene???
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Drazzil »

Zenn7 wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 11:51 pm
AWS260 wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 7:14 pm
NickAragua wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 5:48 pm Alternately, we can move in with our dropship and Alpha-Strike flight (the Lightning will have to navigate manually due to a completely busted avionics system). This will be a larger dogfight but we'll be able to better concentrate our firepower.

Regardless, we are to avoid damaging the jump ship at all costs.

[] Hang back with the dropship, let our second fighter flight clear out the escorts.
[X] Move in with the dropship, giant furball.
Image
How can we not vote for this with that scene???
I mean if a furball is what everyone else wants then you talked me into it.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
All forces move in - almost unanimous
"Beta-Strike, hold at stand-off range until we arrive. ETA, two minutes."

Round 1-2:
Spoiler:
Image
Beta-Strike does just that, provoking the light fighters escorting the jumpship into burning right past them.

One of our Lightnings takes some damage from a Lucifer heavy passing by but completely blows away a Seydlitz as the light fighter struggles to avoid the burst from the AC/20.

Round 3,4:
Spoiler:
Image
Our Lightning fighters turn their autocannons and lasers on the passing Hellcat, gouging out most of the medium aerospace fighter's engine and several weapons. The engine sputters and the fighter drifts, giving our fighters a little bit of clear space. This allows the heat sinks to go to work to dissipate all the generated heat and lets Beta-Strike come to rest relative to the jumpship.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
The squadron previously engaging the Moonraker moves to intercept Beta-Strike as their compatriots decelerate to try to get back into the battle. The two groups exchange laser and autocannon fire, but only inflict armor damage.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
Alpha-Strike burns in to tilt the odds back in our favor. As do a pair of separatist heavies that we failed to detect, a Stuka and another Eagle. Annoying.

Two of our Lightnings take crippling engine hits and will have to bug out, but we do disable a "fresh" Eagle.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
The hostiles overshoot us and have to decelerate for another pass, except a single Stuka. The 100-tonner takes some damage from our fighters, losing lots of armor and disabling a small laser on one of our Lucifers.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
Image
A few light fighters come back, moving to help their beleaguered Stuka pal out. We continue pounding the Stuka, however, and a couple of the hostile lights lose it, drifting away briefly.

Round 9:
Spoiler:
Image
The dogfight continues, with the Moonraker closing in and only ten seconds away. Our remaining Lightning takes a bit of a pounding, but so does the Stuka. Lot of aimless drifting going on out here.

Round 10:
Spoiler:
Image
Not being able to control the spacecraft is unfortunate for the Stuka's aero jock, as it places him square in the path of our dropship as it burns in to clear things up. It takes a crippling engine hit and powers down, floating off into the void until the pilot can restart the engine or get recovered.

Round 11:
Spoiler:
Image
Fighters swarm around the Moonraker, trying to get a good angle on each other. The Moonraker's guns go to work, stripping a lot of armor from a nearby Lucifer and a pair of light fighters. A pair of hostile fighters, an already damaged Eagle and a Sparrowhawk, take severe damage from our Lucifers and initiate a full burn away from the battle area.

Round 12:
Spoiler:
Image
A Sparrowhawk flies a little too close to the Moonraker's forward-starboard batteries and gets blown away, while a Seydlitz pilot fails to get control of his spacecraft in time to avoid a series of blasts from our dropship's aft laser battery and breaks up. Three of the remaining enemy fighters lose control, leaving just their Lucifer able to carry out meaningful maneuvers. This gives us a major tactical advantage, although our Lightning isn't doing so hot, with damaged avionics preventing meaningful navigation as well.

Round 13:
Spoiler:
Image
Our Shilone reports running out of LRMs as it destroys a Sparrowhawk, but it doesn't matter too much. With the Moonraker blowing away another Sparrowhawk, the jumpship defense deteriorates.

They remaining light fighters come around for another pass, but get scattered to the solar winds, with another Sparrowhawk disintegrating under fire from the Moonraker's guns. Our Union moves to the jumpship more or less unimpeded, easily avoiding its fairly impotent PPC fire and moving in to dock. The crew issues their surrender shortly, and the remaining aerospace fighters zip off to parts unknown.

Three of our fighters took serious damage, all of them Lightnings. Two with damaged engines requiring extensive repairs while one had its avionics system completely blown out. They also have to do belly landings in our Union's hangar, which isn't a big deal in zero G, but will prevent atmospheric operations until we can get the landing gear repaired. As far as the Moonraker goes, other than using a bunch of LRMs and autocannon ammo, not a scratch.

The groundside liaison hems and haws and haggles. At the end, we agree on a payment of 175M C-Bills for the capture of the jumpship - roughly 25% of the going market rate. "I shall... be off arrange for the funds transfer." the liaison says.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Beta-Hunter continues closing in on the escaping convoy. They catch a lucky break when the convoy's speed is reduced by rough terrain and weather, allowing them to catch up. At which point, Gamma-Probe issues a call for support. It seems that, between them and one of our infantry patrols, they've located a group of hostile units whose signatures match those we determined from our analysis of the militia's patrols, and their markings are similar to those of the pirates that our Kurita employers want us to hunt down.

Unfortunately, they're hanging out in a facility defended by a heavy and a medium mech lance backed up by a substantial number (two plus companies, 24 units). Alpha-Command is already on the way to help, but Beta-Hunter could probably make the difference between it being a tough fight and an easier fight. We could also bring the Sparrow in for some fire support, but it's a little bit risky since the Sparrow is a little beat up - armor is in the yellow and all weapons are operational, but there's always an element of hesitation to bring a dropship into a ground battle. We'll also need to consider whether to order our infantry to participate or lay low. They're pretty well-equipped as far as that goes, toting gyroslug rifles and several crew-served support lasers capable of punching holes through mech armor. But, historically speaking, our infantry hasn't done well in pitched battles. Finally, there is the option to bring our artillery in and help pound the facility from range, but we'll need to call in a favor from the militia for a quick ride on one of their dropships.

Pick any number, including none.
[] Order Beta-Hunter to cease pursuit and provide support. Good firepower increase, but lose track of the convoy.
[] Bring the Sparrow in. Major firepower increase, but also risk of more damage to the dropship.
[] Order the infantry to participate. Minor firepower increase, good chance they get splattered.
[] Get the militia to give our artillery battery a ride in. Good firepower increase, uses a militia favor that could be spent elsewhere.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Freyland »

We just ate dirt on the jump ship salvage. They can cart around our artillery.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by AWS260 »

NickAragua wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:57 pm [] Order Beta-Hunter to cease pursuit and provide support. Good firepower increase, but lose track of the convoy.
[X] Bring the Sparrow in. Major firepower increase, but also risk of more damage to the dropship.
[X] Order the infantry to participate. Minor firepower increase, good chance they get splattered.
[X] Get the militia to give our artillery battery a ride in. Good firepower increase, uses a militia favor that could be spent elsewhere.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

NickAragua wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:57 pm [] Order Beta-Hunter to cease pursuit and provide support. Good firepower increase, but lose track of the convoy.
[] Bring the Sparrow in. Major firepower increase, but also risk of more damage to the dropship.
[] Order the infantry to participate. Minor firepower increase, good chance they get splattered.
[X] Get the militia to give our artillery battery a ride in. Good firepower increase, uses a militia favor that could be spent elsewhere.
The artillery I think we should definitely use. Dropship's a definite no - they're too valuable to risk unless necessary. Not to be too much of a softy, but I'm not inclined to get all our infantry killed for a few extra plinks on mech armor, unless we can get them elemental suits or something.

I'm tempted to bring in Beta-Hunter as well. But then my attention has wavered and I kind of forget what's important about the convoy.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

El Guapo wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 4:06 pm The artillery I think we should definitely use. Dropship's a definite no - they're too valuable to risk unless necessary. Not to be too much of a softy, but I'm not inclined to get all our infantry killed for a few extra plinks on mech armor, unless we can get them elemental suits or something.

I'm tempted to bring in Beta-Hunter as well. But then my attention has wavered and I kind of forget what's important about the convoy.
The convoy will be worth a favor or two from the militia, but the main draw is that one of the escorts is an advanced-model Phoenix Hawk. We're under agreement with the militia to turn salvage over to them, but the guys in Beta-Hunter are seriously considering not reporting that particular mech (or, uh, battle) if they happen to disable it.

It's a pretty tough cookie, though, so who knows how that'll go.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

NickAragua wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 4:26 pm
El Guapo wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 4:06 pm The artillery I think we should definitely use. Dropship's a definite no - they're too valuable to risk unless necessary. Not to be too much of a softy, but I'm not inclined to get all our infantry killed for a few extra plinks on mech armor, unless we can get them elemental suits or something.

I'm tempted to bring in Beta-Hunter as well. But then my attention has wavered and I kind of forget what's important about the convoy.
The convoy will be worth a favor or two from the militia, but the main draw is that one of the escorts is an advanced-model Phoenix Hawk. We're under agreement with the militia to turn salvage over to them, but the guys in Beta-Hunter are seriously considering not reporting that particular mech (or, uh, battle) if they happen to disable it.

It's a pretty tough cookie, though, so who knows how that'll go.
Meh, who cares about an "advanced" Phoenix Hawk (what, does it have an extra medium laser or something?) that we may or may not disable. I'd be inclined to rope in Beta Hunter, then.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zenn7 »

NickAragua wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:57 pm [] Order Beta-Hunter to cease pursuit and provide support. Good firepower increase, but lose track of the convoy.
[] Bring the Sparrow in. Major firepower increase, but also risk of more damage to the dropship.
[X] Order the infantry to participate. Minor firepower increase, good chance they get splattered.
[X] Get the militia to give our artillery battery a ride in. Good firepower increase, uses a militia favor that could be spent elsewhere.
No risking our dropship further!

I'd like to get that advanced Phoenix Hawk. Might be more important than we realize. Not just for the mech, but see if we can get the pilot and interrogate where the separatists are getting advanced tech. This could be an issue for us later.

Infantry's been on the payroll doing squat for long enough, let's put them to work.
And we've done the militia enough favors, time for them to return some.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by gbasden »

Zenn7 wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 7:45 pm
NickAragua wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:57 pm [] Order Beta-Hunter to cease pursuit and provide support. Good firepower increase, but lose track of the convoy.
[] Bring the Sparrow in. Major firepower increase, but also risk of more damage to the dropship.
[X] Order the infantry to participate. Minor firepower increase, good chance they get splattered.
[X] Get the militia to give our artillery battery a ride in. Good firepower increase, uses a militia favor that could be spent elsewhere.
No risking our dropship further!

I'd like to get that advanced Phoenix Hawk. Might be more important than we realize. Not just for the mech, but see if we can get the pilot and interrogate where the separatists are getting advanced tech. This could be an issue for us later.

Infantry's been on the payroll doing squat for long enough, let's put them to work.
And we've done the militia enough favors, time for them to return some.
Agreed on all counts.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by AWS260 »

El Guapo wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 4:30 pm Meh, who cares about an "advanced" Phoenix Hawk (what, does it have an extra medium laser or something?) that we may or may not disable.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Drazzil »

Zenn7 wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 7:45 pm
NickAragua wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:57 pm [] Order Beta-Hunter to cease pursuit and provide support. Good firepower increase, but lose track of the convoy.
[] Bring the Sparrow in. Major firepower increase, but also risk of more damage to the dropship.
[X] Order the infantry to participate. Minor firepower increase, good chance they get splattered.
[X] Get the militia to give our artillery battery a ride in. Good firepower increase, uses a militia favor that could be spent elsewhere.
No risking our dropship further!

I'd like to get (in) that advanced Phoenix Hawk.
ftfy :D
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zenn7 »

Drazzil wrote: Sun Dec 22, 2019 10:32 pm
Zenn7 wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 7:45 pm
NickAragua wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 1:57 pm [] Order Beta-Hunter to cease pursuit and provide support. Good firepower increase, but lose track of the convoy.
[] Bring the Sparrow in. Major firepower increase, but also risk of more damage to the dropship.
[X] Order the infantry to participate. Minor firepower increase, good chance they get splattered.
[X] Get the militia to give our artillery battery a ride in. Good firepower increase, uses a militia favor that could be spent elsewhere.
No risking our dropship further!

I'd like to get (in) that advanced Phoenix Hawk.
ftfy :D
ftfy? I don't think so...

I'm driving an Awesome, with PPC specialization and high heat tolerance. I'm not downgrading to a Phoenix Hawk until they come up with an high tech, ASSAULT CLASS (80-100 tons) version armed with PPCs.

However, we have a couple Pixie pilots in our active crew that could likely have some fun with this. And they might have other high tech stuff, capturing this guy might help us find their source and what else they might have.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Bring the Sparrow in - 1
Bring Beta-Hunter in - 3
Bring the infantry in - 3
Bring the artillery in - 8 - threshold passed
"Understood, Gamma-Probe. Sit tight, we've got some artillery support coming in on a militia dropship. Beta-Hunter, what's your status?"

"About to engage escaping convoy elements."

"Understood, keep at it. See if you can get a hold of that Phoenix Hawk."

"Eyrie Platoon, you are to continue to avoid contact. Engage only in self-defense and only long enough to break contact. Sparrow and defensive elements, stay put."

Gamma-Probe hangs out for the couple of hours it takes the militia guys to ferry our artillery battery, while Alpha-Command closes in from the northwest.

"Command, we've got a reinforced mech lance and a reinforced company of armor moving out in your direction." Cujo calls out. "Beagle probe shows heavy comms from what must be their HQ unit... a Pegasus hovertank?" An expression of puzzlement crosses the lance leader's face.

"Understood. Engage the facility and provide targeting support for the artillery. We'll tackle the guys leaving the party then join you."

Alpha-Command makes the interception in a fairly densely wooded area.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
The first sign of trouble for the unidentified hostiles is when one of their J. Edgar hovertanks circles around a large patch of woods and runs into the entire lance. Between Gbasden's PPC shots and a couple of lasers from El Guapo's Marauder (not to mention Stefan and Isgrimnur adding their piece), the little hovertank more or less disintegrates.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
We spot sensor blips coming in from up ahead. Isgrimnur and El Guapo push their mechs and close in to line of sight. El Guapo delivers a PPC blast to the right leg of a Firestarter in the back, while Isgrimnur closes in with an Enforcer. The two mechs are similarly armed, but only score mild laser damage on each other. Isgrimnur deftly avoids the Enforcer's clumsy kick then sweeps the hatchet under the other leg. With nothing to hold it up in the air, the heavier mech comes down on the ground hard and stops moving. Reactor signature is still normal, so the mechwarrior must have blacked out.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
Our infantry may not be engaging (which is just as well, since there are grapefruit-sized chunks of hail falling from the sky currently), but they still took the time to plant a couple of minefields, one of which bears fruit as a Vedette drives over it, triggering the mines, which blow off the front half of the tank.

El Guapo continues targeting the Firestarter from the back of the initial formation, tracking it as it jumps west, following its buddy into some woods. A pair of PPC shots contact the left leg, while a gauss slug crumples the right leg just above the knee. The light mech collapses in a heap. The Marauder's cockpit gets nice and cozy, but it should be ok as we'll have time for a little breather before engaging the next group of enemies.

Gbasden blows the left arm and half the left torso section off the other Firestarter with a triple PPC dose, while Stefan jumps over to the Enforcer that Isgrimnur started and blasts the left leg with the Catapult's four medium lasers. Satisfied that his sensors show the limb as disables (all actuators and joints fused together), our mechwarrior moves on after also stomping on the autocannon with a bird leg.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
A brief view of the next wave of hostiles coming in (minus the unfortunate tank that rolled over some mines).

Hard to believe, but the Enforcer gets up and takes a pot shot at El Guapo as our mechwarrior takes the Marauder south. Isgrimnur jumps back, however, knocking the Enforcer back over with a couple of light taps to the torso with the hatchet. "Stay down this time." our mechwarrior issues a reminder over the open frequency.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
The guy in the Enforcer must be pretty good, because he just keeps getting up and taking pot shots. If he had some backup or a better mech, we'd be in trouble. As it is, we just take a little armor damage, then Isgrimnur gets in behind the slowed-down 50-tonner and lets rip with the autocannon and a couple of medium lasers, breaching the engine shielding, then bringing the hatchet down onto the left torso, separating the left third of the mech from the main part.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
"Engaging second group of hostiles. Four hovercraft, Griffin, Stinger." El Guapo rattles off as his Marauder pumps particle beams and a gauss slug into a Condor hovertank. The vehicle absorbs the punishment without any apparent degradation in performance. Stefan sends a salvo of LRMs screaming at a Maxim, avoiding its smaller salvo, while Isgrimnur engages the Griffin to the south, scoring a laser hit.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
"The hell's that thing?" Gbasden thinks as he sends a pair of PPC shots towards a weird-ass looking dual-rotor VTOL that he's never seen before.

Warbook identifies it as a "Karnov UR Gunship", and our later investigation shows that it's... uh... well, it's hard to figure out the words to describe it. It's supposed to be a troop transport, but some people apparently thought it would be a good use of time, money and materials to take out the troop transport compartments and replace them with machine guns to have 360 degree coverage around the VTOL, with two MGs per firing arc. Which is great, I suppose, if you're trying to gun down large groups of infantry or civilian rioters, but is completely unsuited for open-field combat, especially since it's got barely enough armor to absorb a single large laser blast.

Isgrimnur disables the Condor that El Guapo started working on by putting some autocannon rounds through the engine, while El Guapo switches targets to the Pegasus. "Don't blow up, don't blow up, don't blow up..." our mechwarrior chants. It doesn't. So that's good, although it's still moving.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
Image
"Do not destroy that Pegasus." Gbasden reminds our eager Hatchetman pilot as he jumps over.

"Fine, fine." Isgrimnur grumbles, restricting himself to just lasers.

El Guapo wings the VTOL lightly, damaging a rotor, while Stefan jumps in and takes the left arm off the Stinger with the Catapult's lasers.

Round 9:
Spoiler:
Image
"Whoa, where are you going?" Isgrimnur asks as the Pegasus revs up its fans and backs up. Chasing it down, he delivers another pair of lasers, cutting through the skirt, which lets out the air cushion, as well as exposing the crew to some fresh air with an armor breach.

El Guapo supports our Hatchetman from long range by blowing a hole through the right side of a Saracen with a PPC shot, which causes the hovercraft to grind along the ground for a few meters then start belching black smoke. The rest of the hovertanks target Isgrimnur, but to little effect.

Round 10:
Spoiler:
Image
El Guapo takes down the last of the hovercraft, a Maxim, which eats a PPC and gauss slug, losing enough fans that the only place it can propel itself to is a relatively gentle stop on the ground.

Isgrimnur is mildly distracted by the damaged Stinger pinging some MG rounds off the back of his mech, so can't close the deal on the Vedette he's chosen as the target, but does spare a single laser for the Stinger's right leg, removing armor there.

Stefan engages a Griffin that jumps in, but neither mech scores any meaningful damage.

Round 11:
Spoiler:
Image
"Fine, you want a piece of this?" Isgrimnur asks as the Stinger keeps harassing him, stripping some armor off the Hatchetman's leg with a laser. The Hatchetman's autocannon barks, removing the right arm from the mech, while a pair of lasers breach right torso armor, spraying heat sink fluid out. The bug mech doesn't go down very gracefully, its right leg snapping off at the hip.

With no working arms and only one leg, that poor machine isn't going anywhere.

The remainder of the enemy force (mostly low-quality tracked vehicles that had barely joined the main battle) begins a retreat towards the facility where Gamma-Probe is gearing up for their attack. Gbasden finally nails that stupid Karnov as it makes a pass on Isgrimnur with its machine guns, while El Guapo blows away a little scout car with a PPC.

Since we've already managed to disable a bunch of tanks and mechs, we order our infantry to begin rounding up prisoners. There's a good chance that our infantry won't be able to nab everyone out of the HQ vehicle unless we have our mechs stick around to keep a lid on things, but that will leave Gamma-Probe taking on a heavy mech lance plus backup with nothing but an artillery battery for support. We could always come back for that base later, once we ask these guys a couple of questions - it's not like it's going anywhere. Well, they might bug out, possibly, if they have a dropship hidden nearby. But Gamma-Probe's been scouting the area for a few days now and haven't seen anything of the sort, and they've got a Beagle active probe. So if there is a dropship nearby, it's completely powered down and well-hidden, or pretty far away - in other words, we'll know about it.

Alpha-Command is basically in the green, with about 50% ammo expenditure, except for Stefan, as our relatively new mechwarrior has been holding down the trigger on those LRM/15 launchers, and has nearly emptied the ammo bins. Still, the Catapult has the four lasers, so it's not exactly helpless.

[] Alpha-Command sticks around to help capture prisoners, Gamma-Probe makes their attack anyway.
[] Alpha-Command sticks around to help capture prisoners, Gamma-Probe aborts their attack.
[] Alpha-Command pursues retreating active hostiles, reinforcing Gamma-Probe.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zenn7 »

NickAragua wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 4:18 pm [] Alpha-Command sticks around to help capture prisoners, Gamma-Probe makes their attack anyway.
[x] Alpha-Command sticks around to help capture prisoners, Gamma-Probe aborts their attack.
[] Alpha-Command pursues retreating active hostiles, reinforcing Gamma-Probe.
They're not going anywhere, let's get these prisoners and hammer those SOBs properly later.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by gbasden »

Zenn7 wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 11:01 pm
NickAragua wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2019 4:18 pm [] Alpha-Command sticks around to help capture prisoners, Gamma-Probe makes their attack anyway.
[x] Alpha-Command sticks around to help capture prisoners, Gamma-Probe aborts their attack.
[] Alpha-Command pursues retreating active hostiles, reinforcing Gamma-Probe.
They're not going anywhere, let's get these prisoners and hammer those SOBs properly later.
Concur!
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Capture prisoners, Gamma-Probe aborts attack - unanimous
"Gamma-Probe, stand down, but continue observation."

"Understood, command." Cujo replies.

------------------------

"I don't like it." Wolf says, checking the Orion's sensors again. "Other than that Enforcer that peeled off a while back, all the rest of their units are faster than us. So why are they staying in sensor range instead of booking it?"

"Battle damage?" Hyena asks.

"Maybe. I've been reviewing sensor logs, and they shouldn't have enough to slow them down, so who knows. Or maybe, they're leading us into an ambush."

The lieutenant in charge of Beta-Hunter lance's pursuit agrees. After some discussion with our militia Panther buddy, he's convinced as well. Not like he'd have a chance of taking all those guys on by himself anyway. Beta-Hunter ceases pursuit and returns to the Sparrow.

-------------------------

Our techs manage to fix about half of our fighters (the most common type of damage being inoperable landing gear for some reason) and most of our mechs. The only exception being Beta-Hunter, where Hyena's Archer is downchecked as the techs replace the damaged shoulder joint, one of the more laborious processes in the field of battlemech repairs. The Sparrow isn't entirely fixed yet, either, but can still ferry battlemechs back and forth.

Our prisoner interrogation and examination of the data stored on the captured Pegasus confirms that the units at the base Gamma Probe was watching are what we're looking for - we compare the sensor scan data provided by our Combine employers with the data our recon lance gathered, and the captured mechwarriors confirm that they've been carrying out raids into Combine space. They refuse to reveal their origins or employers, however, claiming to be "independent freelancers". So, we'll need to mount an operation to deal with that facility, since that's what we're actually getting paid for. Our estimate is that this will require at least two mech lances, plus a flight of aerospace fighters, as Gamma-Probe has observed air patrols in the area. The good part is that we've still got our artillery battery sitting tight in the area.

The militia requests our help for three operations as well. First, they ask us to commit an aerospace flight to help defend the supply depot on Zed (the moon hanging overhead) that we bailed out a couple of weeks ago. They've got some ground units in the area, but could use the air support. Unfortunately, it looks like a separatist-controlled Avenger-class dropship is operating in that area. An Avenger is not a transport, it's a hunter-killer, and will make short work of any non-substantial force we send in.

Second, they ask us for help in eliminating a separatist leader currently leading a major push on one of the islands. The separatists appear to be throwing everything they have - two tank battalions (~70 tanks), a reinforced mech company and several flights of conventional fighters. This will be a series of extremely tough fights - the plan would be to draw off the majority of the separatist forces with diversionary engagements across terrain favorable to us, then send a lance in for the kill. The salvage payoff will be pretty good, but the risk of our forces getting shot up is pretty high, and it doesn't really have much to do with what we came here to do. We'd need to commit at least a company of our mechs, plus probably some aerospace fighters to keep the separatist aircraft from blasting away at our ground units.

Finally, we're asked to help defend a nearby monitoring station against an attack by a heavy mech lance with light mech and armor support. It's a little less risky than dealing with the separatist push, and the payout should be nice if we take down some of those heavy mechs, but, again, we don't really have a dog in the race. Holding on to it would enable the SMM to keep an eye on separatist movements in the nearby area.

Which of these engagements do we want to tackle? We're not in any way obligated to help defeat the separatists, but if they beat the militia up too much and island hop too close to us, we're going to have trouble leaving once we complete our contract.

[] Finish off our contract targets
[] Help defend moon-side supply depot
[] Eliminate separatist leader
[] Defend monitoring station
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zarathud »

[x] Finish off our contract targets
[] Help defend moon-side supply depot
[] Eliminate separatist leader
[] Defend monitoring station

Do the job and then take the next job if we want it.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Drazzil »

Eliminate separatist leader would be the option I would choose. We need to check seperatist momentum before they interfere with our ability to operate.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Zenn7 »

NickAragua wrote: Tue Dec 24, 2019 3:06 pm [x] Finish off our contract targets
[] Help defend moon-side supply depot
[] Eliminate separatist leader
[x] Defend monitoring station
Finish our job. But want to make sure we can still get out of here w/o being overrun by separatists. Moon base defense won't help us much, being able to get info on Separatist movements will. Eliminating the leader would do more probably, but we don't want to over extend ourselves, doesn't sound like we could do our contract, eliminate leader and defend monitoring station and still defend our base.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Finish off our contract targets - unanimous
Defend monitoring station - 1
August 24, 3043
Sensor Monitoring Station
200km east of landing zone
Moore, Skye March

We opt to skip throwing our forces into the meat grinder on the SMM's behalf this time - with our goal in sight, it's time to focus. That being said, having additional real-time sensor data on the surroundings of our landing zone would be pretty useful, so we dispatch Gamma-Battle lance to help defend it.

I say "help", but there's not a single mobile militia unit in sight, and their defensive turrets are strict anti-personnel jobs. So it's going to be our mech lance against theirs. Gamma-Battle is Scrub trying out her Marauder, Xwraith and Cylus in Thunderbolt and Grasshopper respectively, plus a new guy driving a Grand Dragon (we did some minor work on it to rotate the rear-facing laser forward).

The incoming force is a heavy mech lance, consisting of a Crusader, a Marauder, an Orion and a Wolverine, with backup from a couple of Wasps and a reinforced armor lance. They spread out and come in from the northeast.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
Cylus and Xwraith move forward rapidly to close with a chunk of hostiles coming in. A Plainsman hovertank takes multiple laser blasts from the Grasshopper - there's an internal explosion and the hovercraft grinds to a halt along the pavement. Cylus takes a couple of SRM and autocannon hits, but holds the Grasshopper vertical with practiced ease. The adjacent Wolverine misses with all its shots then attempts to kick our heavier mech in the shins, but it's not happening and the Wolverine loses most of the armor on its left leg as it winds up on the ground.

Xwraith and Scrub work on the Partisan (think quad-linked light autocannons), Xwraith fusing several tread links while one of Scrub's PPCs melts an autocannon barrel. Xwraith stomps a hole through the front of the tank as well, causing a major armor breach.

Scrub's Marauder's cockpit heats up quite a bit as she lets rip with the PPCs and she makes a futile attempt to wipe sweat off her forehead, muttering unpleasantries about heat sink designers.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
Xwraith takes some damage from LRMs coming overhead at an oblique angle, reporting a rear armor breach and a jump jet knocked out, along with a heat sink. The damage throws our mechwarrior's aim off a little, but the Wolverine which avoided Cylus still loses a bunch of armor from its right side. Scrub gives the Marauder a chance to cool off, using the time to fire short-range weapons and the over-the-shoulder autocannon at a Pegasus hovertank, putting a couple of lasers through the engine block.

The intrepid separatist Wolverine unloads autocannon rounds and SRMs into Xwraith's mech, but that's the end of his adventure - Scrub's Maruder cracks the lighter mech's leg at the hip with a solid kick, sending it to the ground.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
As Xwraith moves away to gain a little breathing room, a Wasp jumps up after our Thunderbolt. Scrub is on the job, blasting the right half of the bug mech's torso off with a pair of PPC shots, causing the enemy mechwarrior to miss his shots.

To the northwest, our Grand Dragon reports destroying a Vedette.

"One Vedette? We've got a lance of heavy mechs on us, and you're screwing around with a shitty little tank? Get over here!" Scrub yells as a salvo of SRMs hammers the Marauder's cockpit.

The offending Crusader does take some serious damage as Cylus gets the drop on it, though, falling to the ground with multiple rear armor breaches.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
Cylus jumps south to cover Scrub's rear arc as a second Wasp and a Striker make a play for it. The Wasp loses both its arms to laser fire.

The Crusader gets up and unloads into Scrub's Marauder, gouging out a significant amount of armor with its lasers and SRMs, even as Xwraith hits it in the back with several lasers and Scrub removes the last of the armor from its right leg.

"Engaging enemy Marauder." The Grand Dragon reports.

"Well, better than a stupid Vedette." Scrub mutters.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
The Wasp forgets about the Marauder's capability to rotate its arms backwards and pays the price as one of Scrub's PPCs shears off its left leg.

Xwraith disables the Striker that's been picking away at us, fusing its treads and jamming the turret in place with a solid blast from the ER laser. Our Thunderbolt takes some damage from the Crusader, but Cylus gets in behind the 65 ton mech. The damage isn't too catastrophic, just an SRM launcher and a leg actuator, but it drops the separatist heavy to the ground again.

The separatist Orion and Marauder, along with a Galleon tank, decide to pull back, leaving their Crusader buddy in a lurch. Being surrounded by three heavy mechs, the enemy mechwarrior signals a surrender and powers down. The militia pay out 1.7M for salvage exchange, and they made out pretty well - a legged Wolverine and a more or less "works out of the box" Crusader. I'm still baffled by this whole "missile racks on the legs" idea, though.

Scrub has a little chat with the guy in the Grand Dragon regarding target selection priorities. She's also pretty unhappy with the Marauder's heat profile, but acknowledges that the ability to direct most of your firepower backwards on a whim is pretty useful.

-----

While planning our attack on the "pirate" outpost, Gamma-Probe's reports note that the "pirates" appear to have deployed an artillery battery of their own. We start thinking about loading some of our aerospace fighters up with bombs and bringing them in for a bombing specifically to target and destroy the artillery, so it doesn't give us a hard time. We'll also need to allocate some fighters to air superiority, since we've seen hostile aircraft in the area - a total of three light units, two mediums and a heavy. Currently, Alpha-Strike flight is assigned to this, and are two heavies (Lucifer, Shilone) and a medium (Corsair).

[] Bombs for everyone! Sure, our fighters will be slow as molasses, but will make short work of any ground targets. If they get there.
[] Bombs for some! Load the Lucifer and Shilone up with bombs, while the Corsair is on air superiority.
[] Bombs for one! Load the Lucifer up with bombs, Shilone and Corsair on air superiority.
[] Bombe for everyone! Bring reinforcements! Get Delta-Interceptor in there for air superiority while maxing our bomb load. This will leave our landing zone with minimal air cover, however.

I'm expecting to be able to do one more update before new years, then will be back after.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

NickAragua wrote: Thu Dec 26, 2019 2:06 pm

[] Bombs for everyone! Sure, our fighters will be slow as molasses, but will make short work of any ground targets. If they get there.
[X] Bombs for some! Load the Lucifer and Shilone up with bombs, while the Corsair is on air superiority.
[] Bombs for one! Load the Lucifer up with bombs, Shilone and Corsair on air superiority.
[] Bombe for everyone! Bring reinforcements! Get Delta-Interceptor in there for air superiority while maxing our bomb load. This will leave our landing zone with minimal air cover, however.

I'm expecting to be able to do one more update before new years, then will be back after.
I'm also tempted to bring in Delta-Interceptor, but that depends in part on our assessment of the threat to our landing zone. If that threat is low, then I'd bring them in.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

It's low, but not non-existent.
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