Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

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NickAragua
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Let the mercs have Gauss and UACs - basically unanimous
"The UAC-fives kind of bite." Leraje points out. "They're heavier than standard AC-fives and don't really put out that much more damage in reality."

El Guapo smirks. "I don't know, it's a lot easier to peg those short little stubby mechs when rapid-firing an autocannon than it is to get them with single shots - half the time, you glance off!"

Leraje raises an eyebrow. "Short stubby mechs... like a Marauder?"

El Guapo spreads his hands. "Fair point."

"We've got ten gauss rifles sitting in our dropship right now." Zenn7 points out. "We're not really hurting for spares. Let's just give them to the mercs and move on."

Which is what we do.

---

March 27, 3051

We clear out the remainder of the sector around our dropships, although we wind up having to repel several more incursions. However, we've got our merc buddies organized and set up so that they can provide artillery support anywhere in the sector.

A practical demonstration of this occurs a few days after we rout the "irregular screening force", when Gamma-Probe lance runs into a patrol consisting of a company of light and heavy tanks, mixed with a heavy and light mech lance (approximately). And by "runs into" I mean "is surrounded by" and calls for backup. Luckily, Gamma-Battle lance is on station nearby, and we also call up some artillery support.

Gamma-Probe is, as before, Akalon/Vulcan, AWS/Pixie LAM, Bass/Pixie 3M, along with a Pixie 3D, and also has a Falcon hovertank. There were two Falcons, but the entire crew of the second one got sidelined - seems they were served some bad tacos or drank a little too much hooch from the still in the Moonraker's engine room.

Gamma-Battle lance is Leraje in the Black Knight (oven variant), Xwraith in a Crusader (the Thunderbolt being in the shop), plus a Catapult and a Rifleman 3C.

"ETA 50 seconds." Leraje calls out. "Artillery barrage beginning now."

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
"Hey guys, check out these huge-ass missiles! We got some of the Kurita Chaparral* tanks working!"

"Right. Those missiles better not be landing on top of *us*." Bass grumbles.

Our Falcon hovertank starts the party off by circling around a Skulker and immobilizing it, popping its rear tires off with SRM fire. Akalon, meanwhile, can't get enough of those clan-spec medium lasers. Granted, there are only two of them, but they hit from a lot further away, and the Warhammer to the south feels it.

"Stick together, don't engage the hostiles to the northeast until backup gets here." Akalon instructs the lance.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
"Yeah, direct hit on target!" the excited artillery crews chatter over comms.

Bass scoffs. "Sure, if your target was a bunch of random trees nowhere close to any enemy units." His grumbling is then interrupted by the Kurita-variant Warhammer* landing two PPC shots on his mech, one grazing the left leg the other blasting armor off the right torso. Our mechwarrior retaliates by brushing the extended range laser over the enemy mech's head briefly.

AWS and Akalon engage a K2 Catapult** and a Clint***. The Clint loses its right arm to laser fire from both of the mechs, the lightly-armored mech unable to withstand even the relatively limited firepower applied. AWS ducks underneath a swung arm from the Clint, then Akalon applies direct pressure from the Vulcan's foot to the Clint's hip, knocking it to the ground.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
Our Falcon continues its streak, disabling another Skulker with more SRMs, while Gamma-Probe continues engaging the Warhammer/Katapult/Clint/Hermes**** lance. Our Phoenix Hawk 3D engages the Hermes, the two mechs trading close-range weapons fire and kicks, knocking armor off but doing little else.

The Clint, meanwhile decides that it's had enough and disengages. Having more important things to do, and noting that it doesn't have its long-range weapon any more anyway (the autocannon being on the ground somewhere on the battlefield, in pieces), Akalon moves on to another target.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
Our lance pulls back into the small town, having been boxed in a little bit by the heavier opposition. Bass turns left and snaps a shot with one of the Phoenix Hawk's extended-range lasers at a Panther approaching from the northeast, blasting a small chunk of armor off its torso, while Akalon avoids a PPC blast from the Warhammer and inflicts major damage on the back of the damaged Clint, blowing out several jump jets and a heat sink with laser and MG fire, throwing a quick squeeze of the flamer into the mix as well.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
Leraje's Gamma-Battle Lance arrives from the east, immediately engaging an Archer and various support vehicles.

AWS smirks as a Long Tom round lands on top of a couple of infantry squads that were discharged from the Packrat engaging Bass, as does the latter mechwarrior. "Guess they're not such bad shots after all." he quips, before turning to engage said Packrat with the Phoenix Hawks' lasers. The nimble little vehicle dodges the worst of it only getting a flat tire.

AWS, meanwhile, delivers several laser blasts and a shot from the snub-nose PPC to the Katapult, but is unable to breach armor.

Leraje pounds forward with the Black Knight, blasting armor off the Archer and shrugging off counterattacks. A Wasp joins in the firing as well, but is knocked off the building it lands off by Xwraith as our mechwarrior overheats the Crusader to bring the structure down. The Black Knight and Archer trade physical attacks, each winding up with a bit less leg armor than before, while the ground around them winds up with a lot more armor than before.

Gamma-Battle lance's Rifleman disables a Striker light tank with autocannon fire, which the Catapult then finishes off with its "nose"-mounted lasers.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
Our Falcon gets its third kill of the battle, a Scimitar hovertank mounting a TAG system - the enemy hovertank's skirt is punctured repeatedly while its drive fans are shredded by SRMs. The Scimitar retaliates with a NARC beacon to the front of our hovercraft and some SRMs, but our tank's armor holds up.

Bass finishes off the Packrat he was working on, leaving him free to take on a Hermes and an Assassin.

The Archer Leraje is targeting opens up on our Rifleman down the hill, braching its left leg armor and blowing out an actuator with an LRM salvo, but Leraje circles around behind the Kurita command mech and blasts away with the clan-spec large lasers. The weapons easily cut through the weak rear armor, and then a medium laser contacts an LRM ammo bin, causing the entire torso to disappear as the mechwarrior goes for a flight in the ejection seat.

Our Phoenix Hawk 3D meanwhile swaps out with AWS briefly to engage the Catapult K2, the armor damage knocking the enemy mech to the ground as it perches up on a rock trying to fire at AWS's Phoenix Hawk.

Akalon scores another victory for our side, getting in behind the Warhammer, ducking under a PPC shot and flaying armor off its right leg with lasers and flamers before crunching the exposed structure - the weakened leg rips off as the Warhammer tries to step forward and the 70-ton heavy flops forward.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
"Hey guys, our Arrow IVs are showing NO TAG or some shit like that, anybody know what's going on?"

Leraje rolls his eyes. "Yeah, we need to designate targets for you with a TAG laser when you launch those. We don't have a TAG here - cease fire, you're just wasting ammo." Our mechwarrior looks south, where an enemy Harasser is, well, harassing, our Catapult with SRMs, aims the Black Knight's lasers at it and spears it through the side. The light hovercraft remains intact, but the armor breach has got the crew thinking about pulling out.
A Striker gets out from under Leraje's foot and opens fire on Xwraith, pinging some LRMs off the Crusader, then receives some lasers and SRMs in return. Our mechwarrior's expertise at mid-range shots pays off and the Striker is blown away.

Meanwhile, Bass engages the Hermes, taking a flamer burst but returning fire with lasers. This distracts said mech so that our Phoenix Hawk 3D is able to land an extended-range laser shot center of mass, singing the gyro.

The Katapult takes a lot of fire from AWS, losing a significant amount of armor and a lot of heat sinks - the enemy mechwarrior is unable to keep the mech upright and it drops to the ground, crunching a PPC.

With their biggest units crippled or destroyed, the remaining hostiles pull back. A small favor for them is that our artillery support appears to have run out of standard Arrow IV missiles and was lobbing homing ones for a while, with zero effect since we didn't have any TAG with us. They did manage to take out some infantry and apparently caused an armor breach on a Pike support vehicle, which we never even saw - the main evidence is a large chunk of its turret and armor lying on a hill side next to a crater.

Salvage is pretty good - we grab the Warhammer for spare parts for Wolf's mech (or we could fix that up and give it to Wolf?), and the Scimitar with the TAG and NARC systems. We already know about TAG - it's a laser designation system for indirect fire - LRMs and homing Arrow IVs and that sort of thing. NARC is basically a little beacon that attaches to the target and then attracts NARC-capable warheads from various launchers. Could be pretty useful.

Wolf -
[] Stay in the Grasshopper for now (greater mobility via jump jets, better armor, shorter range)
[] Keep the Warhammer WHM-6K (standard heavy mobility, a bit less armor, long range)

The rest of the salvaged wrecks will get stripped for armor and ammo then shoved into our cargo holds for sale when we get back to non-hostile territory.

Akalon, AWS and Bass collectively decide to buy the Falcon crew some hooch to celebrate their skill in taking out hostile units and luck in avoiding the usual fate of auxiliary hovercraft. What's on tap?

[] Akalon has a case of Timbiqui Dark kicking around (classic, mild)
[] AWS has a couple of bottles of Gojo Berry brew (strong, fruity)
[] Bass doesn't go in for fancy drinks, but he's got some "high quality" dropship reactor room hooch (ultra-strong, brain cell massacre)

For now, though, we've got a few more incursions into our controlled area to deal with, including a swarm of aerospace fighters and two more forces moving on a second artillery firebase the Dislocators have set up.

* The Warhammer is basically the archetypical heavy mech. The Kurita variant, like the R, is loaded up with twin PPCs and two packs of lasers as well as an SRM launcher, but has ditched the machine guns in favor of additional heat sink capacity.

** The Catapult K2 is a Kurita-designed depature from the standard bird-legged Catapult, replacing the box LRM/15 launchers on the shoulders with a pair of PPCs while ditching the jump jets and two medium lasers in favor of a pair of machine guns and the heat sinks necessary to run the PPCs. It's generally derided elsewhere in the Inner Sphere, but the Combine's mechwarriors can't get enough of it.

*** The Clint is a fast, jump-capable 40-ton mech mounting an AC/5 as its main gun with two medium lasers for backup. The price for mounting the AC/5 is that it has the armor of a 20-ton bug mech.

**** The Hermes, like the greek messenger god, is a fleet mech relying on high ground speed. Unlike the greek god, it mounts an AC/5, a medium laser and a flamer.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

NickAragua wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:51 pm Gamma-Battle lance is Leraje in the Black Knight (oven variant), Xwraith in a Crusader (the Thunderbolt being in the shop), plus a Catapult and a Rifleman 3C.
It's not oven, it's baby awesome :)
NickAragua wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:51 pm [] Akalon has a case of Timbiqui Dark kicking around (classic, mild)
[] AWS has a couple of bottles of Gojo Berry brew (strong, fruity)
[x] Bass doesn't go in for fancy drinks, but he's got some "high quality" dropship reactor room hooch (ultra-strong, brain cell massacre)
We do not want tank crews getting smart enough to realize that they are riding a death-trap.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by El Guapo »

Leraje wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 5:27 pm
NickAragua wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:51 pm Gamma-Battle lance is Leraje in the Black Knight (oven variant), Xwraith in a Crusader (the Thunderbolt being in the shop), plus a Catapult and a Rifleman 3C.
It's not oven, it's baby awesome :)
NickAragua wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:51 pm [] Akalon has a case of Timbiqui Dark kicking around (classic, mild)
[] AWS has a couple of bottles of Gojo Berry brew (strong, fruity)
[x] Bass doesn't go in for fancy drinks, but he's got some "high quality" dropship reactor room hooch (ultra-strong, brain cell massacre)
We do not want tank crews getting smart enough to realize that they are riding a death-trap.
I'd suggest the Warhammer for Wolf, but it's his call.

On the drink, Leraje makes a compelling case for the dropship hooch, so I'll agree with that. Unless we have some ketracell white around.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by gbasden »

Leraje wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 5:27 pm
NickAragua wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:51 pm [] Akalon has a case of Timbiqui Dark kicking around (classic, mild)
[] AWS has a couple of bottles of Gojo Berry brew (strong, fruity)
[x] Bass doesn't go in for fancy drinks, but he's got some "high quality" dropship reactor room hooch (ultra-strong, brain cell massacre)
We do not want tank crews getting smart enough to realize that they are riding a death-trap.
If you're going to get drunk, why mess around?
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Zenn7 »

gbasden wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 6:09 pm
Leraje wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 5:27 pm
NickAragua wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:51 pm [] Akalon has a case of Timbiqui Dark kicking around (classic, mild)
[] AWS has a couple of bottles of Gojo Berry brew (strong, fruity)
[x] Bass doesn't go in for fancy drinks, but he's got some "high quality" dropship reactor room hooch (ultra-strong, brain cell massacre)
We do not want tank crews getting smart enough to realize that they are riding a death-trap.
If you're going to get drunk, why mess around?
We want it to be a memorable occasion after all.

Give Wolf the Warhammer I think.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by $iljanus »

Zenn7 wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 6:36 pm
gbasden wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 6:09 pm
Leraje wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 5:27 pm
NickAragua wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:51 pm [] Akalon has a case of Timbiqui Dark kicking around (classic, mild)
[] AWS has a couple of bottles of Gojo Berry brew (strong, fruity)
[x] Bass doesn't go in for fancy drinks, but he's got some "high quality" dropship reactor room hooch (ultra-strong, brain cell massacre)
We do not want tank crews getting smart enough to realize that they are riding a death-trap.
If you're going to get drunk, why mess around?
We want it to be a memorable occasion after all.

Give Wolf the Warhammer I think.
Well hooch, of course! I'll bring the banjo!
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by TheMix »

Zenn7 wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 6:36 pm
gbasden wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 6:09 pm
Leraje wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 5:27 pm
NickAragua wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:51 pm [] Akalon has a case of Timbiqui Dark kicking around (classic, mild)
[] AWS has a couple of bottles of Gojo Berry brew (strong, fruity)
[x] Bass doesn't go in for fancy drinks, but he's got some "high quality" dropship reactor room hooch (ultra-strong, brain cell massacre)
We do not want tank crews getting smart enough to realize that they are riding a death-trap.
If you're going to get drunk, why mess around?
We want it to be a memorable occasion after all.

Give Wolf the Warhammer I think.
I agree. If Wolf wants it, of course.

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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by AWS260 »

NickAragua wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:51 pm [] Akalon has a case of Timbiqui Dark kicking around (classic, mild)
[x] AWS has a couple of bottles of Gojo Berry brew (strong, fruity)
[] Bass doesn't go in for fancy drinks, but he's got some "high quality" dropship reactor room hooch (ultra-strong, brain cell massacre)
Y'all are a bunch of savages. Let's get classy.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by $iljanus »

The game will probably give us a negative modifier for being hungover with the hooch.

That said, more reactor go juice please!
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Timbiqui Dark - 1
Gojo Berry Brew - 1
Reactor Room Hooch - Everyone else

Wolf - stays in Grasshopper [player override]
While Gamma-Probe's mechwarriors argue over what to drink (with the 4th guy staying out of it), our aero jocks have to intercept a fairly large aerospace strike force heading for the Dislocators' main artillery fire base. The mercs even send a fighter to help out!

Although it's a 20-ton Seydlitz, while our fighters are all 60 tonners, so it'll be of limited use.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
"Stay in formation, Alpha. You too, Alpha-Four. Engage at maximum range until Beta gets here."

"Roger that. LRMs locked on target... engaging. Hit, target still airborne."

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
"Stay together... ugh. I'm hit. Sai on my tail."

"Don't worry big guy, I gotcha! He's going down... boom!"

"Hey, I got one too!"

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
"Nice, this is like skeet shooting."

"You're telling me, I just got another Sai."

"Alpha-Two here, if you guys don't mind quit bragging and help me out, they're all over me!"

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
"Alpha-Three, let's pinch that Riever."

"Roger that. Targeting Mechbuster, you get the Riever. Four, little buddy, you got my back?"

"Sure do! Uh... never mind, that Sabre got a piece of me. Losing altitude but still ok."

"Mechbuster is gone. Riever looks hurt. Stay on him."

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
"Beta-Strike has arrived. Engaging hostile light fighters."

"Ha, got him! Oh shit, avionics are hit. Hold together baby..."

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
"Beta-Two here. Defender destroyed."

"Alpha-Two, Riever going down... and he's hit the ground. Ouch."

"Alpha-Four here, got my target! That's a big kaboom!"

"Alpha-One here. Hostiles are retreating. Cease fire and call in the salvage crews, see if we can pull any of this crap up. We need some spare landing gear for Gamma flight."

"Hah, look at that Sabre try to pull up..."

"Five C-Bills says he doesn't make it."

"Yeah, I'm not taking that bet. He's already bailed out."

----

A pretty solid victory, with no damage to our units other than some armor and pride. Salvage is mostly inoperable wrecks, which is being generous. It's more like random wings and armor patches. We do recover a "Sparrow" light fighter that's intact (other than the engine being completely shot - but it's an ICE, so not very expensive to replace).

Our aerospace fighters have two places to be now, potentially. Alpha-Ranger (medium) and Beta-Fire (heavy) lances are defending a Dislocators firebase from direct attack by a reinforced armor company (mostly medium armor with some hovercraft and heavies) plus a light mech lance. Meanwhile, Beta-Hunter (heavy/assault) lance is engaging a second force moving in from the southeast - two mech lances (a heavy and a light), plus a reinforced armor company (medium armor, hovercraft, heavies). Beta-Hunter also reports several flights of medium aerospace fighters closing in.

Alpha-Strike flight has two injured pilots and moderate armor damage, while Beta-Strike has one fighter with major damage to the avionics system and light armor damage.

Let's assign two flights to reinforce one or both engagements.
Alpha-Strike
[] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[] Reinforce Beta-Hunter

Beta-Strike
[] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[] Reinforce Beta-Hunter
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

NickAragua wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 2:32 pm Alpha-Strike
[x] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[] Reinforce Beta-Hunter

Beta-Strike
[] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[x] Reinforce Beta-Hunter
Send the heavily damaged units back to the barn though.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by El Guapo »

Leraje wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 2:45 pm
NickAragua wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 2:32 pm Alpha-Strike
[x] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[] Reinforce Beta-Hunter

Beta-Strike
[] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[x] Reinforce Beta-Hunter
Send the heavily damaged units back to the barn though.
I agree with this.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Hyena »

Leraje wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 2:45 pm
NickAragua wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 2:32 pm Alpha-Strike
[x] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[] Reinforce Beta-Hunter

Beta-Strike
[] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[x] Reinforce Beta-Hunter
Send the heavily damaged units back to the barn though.
Yup.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by $iljanus »

Hyena wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 3:32 pm
Leraje wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 2:45 pm
NickAragua wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 2:32 pm Alpha-Strike
[x] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[] Reinforce Beta-Hunter

Beta-Strike
[] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[x] Reinforce Beta-Hunter
Send the heavily damaged units back to the barn though.
Yup.
Yup x 2
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Zenn7 »

$iljanus wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 4:27 pm
Hyena wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 3:32 pm
Leraje wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 2:45 pm
NickAragua wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 2:32 pm Alpha-Strike
[x] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[] Reinforce Beta-Hunter

Beta-Strike
[] Reinforce Alpha-Ranger
[x] Reinforce Beta-Hunter
Send the heavily damaged units back to the barn though.
Yup.
Yup x 2
Yup the third.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Split the party: Alpha to Alpha, Beta to Beta, damaged units home - unanimous
"... so you're not actually setting up the firebase here, you're just looting the place." Our lance leader states.

"Yeah." replies the guy in the 60-ton mech carrying a big crate in one arm.

"... and then you're going to shell the place." the lance leader continues.

"Yep."

Alpha-Ranger is Griffin/Dervish/Ostroc/Wolverine - and for the time being, they are outnumbered. Cylus' Beta-Fire lance is en route but won't get to the fight for almost another two minutes, and even air support is a minute away.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
On the plus side, we get the drop on the incoming militia/36th Dieron Regulars unit as it drives towards the temporarily captured firebase. We get some initial hits on an SRM Carrier and a Hetzer without taking any meaningful damage in return - our Dervish gracefully stepping out of the way of a clumsy close-range attack by a Javelin, which slips on the pavement and falls to the ground.

On the minus side - "Why. Are. You. Driving. Towards. The. Hostiles." the lance leader asks, slowly, through gritted teeth.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
Artillery shells begin landing in the northeast among the Kurita militia force.

Our lance leader sighs.

Our Wolverine in the north finishes off the SRM Carrier, blowing its many, many ammo bins sky high, while the Dervish and Griffin continue engaging the Javelin, Hetzer and Galleon. The Javelin pings a bunch of SRMs off our Dervish but takes multiple lasers from the Griffin in return and is unable to get back up. The Dervish stomps on the Galleon after failing to breach the Hetzer's armor, and the armor breach on the front causes the driver to panic and hit the reverse, flooring the gas pedal to get off the field.

The engineering vehicles report taking damage, but it's likely too late for them.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
Our Wolverine receives an incoming artillery attack warning just in time and books it south as a Long Tom and a Thumper round land roughly where it was standing seconds ago, buffeting a Vedette in the explosions. Our mech does take a headshot from an SRM salvo fired by a pursuing Javelin, but at least he avoids an AC/20 blast from a Saladin - partially helped by raking it with autocannon fire and sending SRMs in through an armor breach to take out its engine block.

The Javelin battling our Griffin and Dervish alongside a Hetzer puts up a brave effort, but it's just not a fair fight - lasers wreck its right arm while a stray SRM from the Dervish dings the gyro through an armor breach in the center torso. The mech wobbles and falls over, lying still - the mechwarrior must have blacked out.

"Oh for... " our Dervish's mechwarrior exclaims after receiving multiple LRMs to the back of the mech. "It's not a standard Hetzer, it's that LRM model."

"You didn't notice that?" The Griffin's mechwarrior replies, bringing a foot down on the wheeled assault gun's rear section cracking open the armor and exposing the crew compartment to the fresh air outside. "Anyway, enough with this chaff, let's go help Alpha-Four."

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
The mercs driving an engineering vehicle feel their ride has had enough and bail out.

Our Ostroc loops in from the south, firing at a Javelin as it engages our Dervish, also closing in. The Javelin takes a large laser to the right torso, blowing an ammo bin. The Dervish still takes multiple SRMs from it and the nearby Pegasus, but armor holds. Said Pegasus is almost flipped over by our Ostroc, but the driver manages to level it out and keep moving.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
Our Wolverine finally breaks through to the merc units, although they're not in great shape. A securitymech has left one of its arms on the pavement (and is still on the ground). Our Dervish blasts through the armor on a Vedette, but otherwise we're unable to accomplish much of anything.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
"Alpha-Strike on station. Beginning attack runs." Our aerospace jocks announce. They don't have bombs, but their lasers, PPCs and LRMs work just fine - a Lucifer strafes a Scimitar hovertank, frying its drive fans. We take some anti-aircraft fire in return, but our aerospace fighters' thick armor does its job. An AC/2 carrier turns its guns skyward, and our Wolverine makes it pay the price with an armor breach. Not a kill, but enough to get the mobile weapons platform to retreat.

This distracts our Dervish long enough for a Pegasus to get in behind it and blast through the rear center torso armor with SRMs, cracking the engine shielding.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
"Ugh, got knocked around a bit. Coming around for another pass." Our Stingray reports after anti-aircraft fire takes a toll.

That aside, between our Lucifer splattering a Plainsman hovertank, our Wolverine detonating a Vedette while the Ostroc disables another one (and kicks over a Pegasus for good measure), the rest of the militia lose their taste for battle and retreat. A Striker tank and a Manticore leave to the east, followed by the Ostscout and Enforcer and a couple more crippled units.

Damage to our lance is minimal, although we have a couple of minor mechwarrior injuries and the Dervish has taken engine damage. For salvage, the highlight is another TAG/NARC Scimitar. The mercs' artillery barrage levels the rest of the facility after we haul their crippled units out before the planetary militia sends more guys in.

Our lance leader's opinion of the Dislocators' coordination skills has not been helped by this experience at all.

---

"... so then she says - 'quit looking up my skirt!'. And then I say - 'but how else am I supposed to fix the lift fan?" The Falcon hovertank's driver, a guy who goes by 'Sadge', finishes his story, then takes a swig of engine room hooch. "Ugh, this shit's nasty. How you guys still alive drinking this stuff?"

Akalon rolls his eyes, sipping his Timbiqui Dark. "Even for mechwarriors, in our line of work, liver damage is usually too long-term a consideration."

"So hey, I got a question for you." One of the gunnery crew, Dennis, asks, looking at AWS. "Is it really true you mechwarriors ride into battle just in your underwear and a neurohelmet?"

AWS looks at the guy, upper lip curled in disgust. "You wish, treadhead. Maybe twenty years ago. We get full-body cooling suits now. Most of us, anyway. Some of the older guys still strip down. I wouldn't want to sit in the Major's chair, that's for sure. I heard they took it out from his old Awesome and put it into the new one so he wouldn't have to re-set his ass groove."

Sadge elbows Dennis. "Hey, who you calling a treadhead? We hover! Anyway, how come you guys get cool call signs, and we have to be stuck with Alpha-this and Gamma-that?"

Akalon sighs. "We didn't really start using tanks as part of our forces until a few years ago. Didn't really have the chance or experience to fully integrate our newly-acquired armor forces into the lances before the clans hit, and when they did, the casualties among support units were... pretty awful."

"You tryin' to say we're gonna die anyway, so why bother giving us cool nicknames?" The driver asks, grimacing as he pours the rest of his glass down the hatch.

Akalon scoffs. "I wouldn't put it that way."

"I would!" Bass pipes up, staggering up from the box he was sitting on, raising his shot glass. "But.. "

[] Pass out drunk, face first - no nickname for the hovertank
[] "We're gonna change that! From now on, you guys are ... " [write-in, flattering]
[] "You don't get to pick your own nickname, pal. From now on, you guys are... " [write-in, non-flattering]
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Freyland »

"Hooch n' Scooch" the hovertank!
Sims 3 and signature unclear.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by AWS260 »

Freyland wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 10:08 pm "Hooch n' Scooch" the hovertank!
Yes.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

AWS260 wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 10:36 pm
Freyland wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 10:08 pm "Hooch n' Scooch" the hovertank!
Yes.
Brilliant. (At least more flattering than "Hover-coffins") :obscene-drinkingchug:
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by TheMix »

I like it!

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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by $iljanus »

Freyland wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 10:08 pm "Hooch n' Scooch" the hovertank!
It’s cute!
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Zenn7 »

Leraje wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 11:09 pm
AWS260 wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 10:36 pm
Freyland wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 10:08 pm "Hooch n' Scooch" the hovertank!
Yes.
Brilliant. (At least more flattering than "Hover-coffins") :obscene-drinkingchug:
More flattering, better to their morale than hover-coffins too. :)

And strip down? Cooling suits? I thought I was wearing my thermal undies!
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by TheMix »

I would have expected something more along the lines of what race car drivers wear. I would think the risk of fire would be high. But I guess if tech has progressed to giant mechs, that the pilot compartment could just as easily be air conditioned and fire proof.

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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

TheMix wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 12:29 pm I would have expected something more along the lines of what race car drivers wear. I would think the risk of fire would be high. But I guess if tech has progressed to giant mechs, that the pilot compartment could just as easily be air conditioned and fire proof.
Nah, it's a sauna for most non-clan mechs. There are only few heat-neutral (read comfortable to drive) designs.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Captainwolfer »

What’s funny is on Sufficent Velocity there are 3 votes for “Upskirt”, and here there are I think 3 votes for “Hooch’n’Scooch”

Man, mech warriors really do not have any respect for vehicle crews :lol:
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by $iljanus »

"So hey, I got a question for you." One of the gunnery crew, Dennis, asks, looking at AWS. "Is it really true you mechwarriors ride into battle just in your underwear and a neurohelmet?"
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by gbasden »

Captainwolfer wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 3:46 pm What’s funny is on Sufficent Velocity there are 3 votes for “Upskirt”, and here there are I think 3 votes for “Hooch’n’Scooch”

Man, mech warriors really do not have any respect for vehicle crews :lol:
OK, Upskirt is awesome.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

Captainwolfer wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 3:46 pm Man, mech warriors really do not have any respect for vehicle crews :lol:
Threadheads should be happy - at least their existence is acknowledged unlike that of PBIs. :twisted:
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by AWS260 »

Upskirt, like the kind of photo perverts take? I mean, I get the hovercraft pun, but... :-?
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Hooch n' Scooch - 6
Upskirt - 6

We've got two hovertanks, so both win!
"... Hooch n' Skirt!" Bass proclaims, before keeling over and hitting the floor, plastic shot glass clattering away.

"No, wait. Hooch n' Scooch. Call the other one upskirt." the mechwarrior mumbles before passing out.

Akalon shrugs, amused. AWS shakes her head, sighing.

March 30, 3051

While our off-duty guys are naming hovertanks, we've got one last group of incoming militia and 36th Dieron regulars to repel. There's a heavy mech lance (three Grand Dragons and an Orion), a light mech lance (Wasp, Mongoose, Assassin and Locust), a loose Centurion and a bunch of tanks/hovercraft. Snow is coming down, which will slow the armor down.

The Dislocators have sent a lance of mechs that'll get there eventually, plus a lance of medium tanks has joined Beta-Hunter. We've got Beta-Strike squadron, plus one of our Starfires that we've been able to redirect to the area. Since the Dislocators have the Chaparral artillery pieces, we've loaded up our Starfire with a TAG pod so we can designate targets for the homing Arrow IVs.

Beta-Hunter is Siljanus in the Mackie, Stefan in the upgraded Merlin, plus a guy in a Guillotine and a guy in a Grasshopper. Perfect for city fighting, which is what this will be.

The only bummer is that there's eight hostile medium fighters loitering in the local airspace.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
There appears to be some confusion between the hostile aerospace fighters and the ground forces - one Lightning comes after us but the rest of the hostile aeros exchange fire with the ground units instead, forcing a Bulldog tank off the battlefield right away. We observe several explosions to the north, and one of the fighters is shot down, crashing into the city.

The Lightning that does come after us avoids most of our anti-air fire and blasts an allied Hetzer with its main weapons and a bunch of externally-mounted rocket pods.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
Four of the hostile aerospace fighters fly off, coming around for another pass. Our Starfire engages another one, its initial target Stingray having flown off.

"The hell are they shooting at each other for?" Stefan wonders, lifting the Merlin's extended-range PPC to take a pot shot at one of the aerospace fighters as we approach the hostile ground force.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
The allied artillery has already fired 12 rounds (a mixture of Arrow IV, Long Tom and Thumper shells), but have only managed to graze two targets. Making up in volume for lack of accuracy indeed.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
Another of the hostile aerospace fighters crashes after taking anti-aircraft fire. Well, these guys are doing a good job against each other, our ground units haven't even fired a single direct shot yet. Our Starfire continues targeting a Lightning blasting chunks off the medium fighter's armor with the Starfire's ultra autocannon. This time, the hostile aerospace fighter's pilot is unable to keep it in the air and it slams into a building. That's three hostile aerospace fighters down.

This changes as Siljanus and his escort Grasshopper engage a Drillson, scoring a few armor hits, while Stefan and his Guillotine pal engage a Grand Dragon and a Vedette.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
Beta-Strike squadron arrives to reinforce the air component of the battle as the majority of the hostile aerospace fighters finish circling around. The air fills with laser blasts, missiles and autocannon rounds as both air and ground components engage.

One of the hostile Lightnings simply explodes in mid-air, while two other fighters receive critical damage to their tailpipes and peel off. Our Chippewa struggles to remain airborne, losing altitude, but is still intact for now.

Siljanus and his escort Grasshopper each immobilize a hovertank, the former a TAG Scimitar, the latter a Drillson. Stefan and his Guillotine pal have a little less luck with their Grand Dragon opponent, but hold their own, although the enemy mech now has backup in the form of two other Grand Dragons and a couple of hovercraft (now that they've stopped getting starfed by their own aerospace fighters).

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
With the artillery starting to zero in on the hostile ground units and their aerospace fighters mostly gone (even if they spent half the time shooting at the wrong targets), our aerospace fighters begin picking off targets, while our Grasshopper disables a Saladin that tries to make a run at it.

The rest of the hostile force retreats, leaving us in charge of the battlefield for very little effort on our part (although our Chippewa winds up having to make a brief street landing before taking off again).

What exactly happened with the hostile air support is unknown - maybe their IFF malfunctioned, or it was the manifestation of a feud between a couple of Kurita nobles. Their loss is our gain - we're able to salvage a Lightning fighter, along with a TAG Scimitar, plus a bunch of other tank and aerospace fighter wrecks (and two light mechs) for armor stripping and sale.

---

A few days later, we locate a biotech equipment storehouse, one of the facilities designated by our employer as a target to "conduct asset acquisition and elimination operations". In other words, loot and slag, emphasis on the loot. It's guarded by a good number of hovercraft and tanks.

"Battle Lance, this is Probe Lead. Tracking company of light hovercraft and armor. What do you need us to do? Also, allied artillery is asking for target designations."

Allied artillery isn't too effective against hovercraft and armor in open terrain and much more effective against stationary targets, but there's a good chance they blow up the assets we're trying to recover.

[] Help Gamma-Probe with their screening action. Not very effective but keeps artillery from accidentally shelling loot.
[] Help Gamma-Battle with their capture operation. Effective against slow units and stationary targets, but might blow up loot.
[] Split fire. Formality for Gamma-Probe. Less collateral damage for Gamma-Battle.


*The Mongoose MON-68 is a downgrade of a 25-ton Star League reconaissance mech design - it has a similar movement and armor profile to a Locust, but packs a large laser, making it better against mechs. It's also not very impressive when a bunch of cluster bombs take one of its legs off.

[AN: I normally don't expose mechanics too much, but, for the scenario we just did, we rolled two "allied reinforcement" scenario modifiers and a "third-party aerospace bombers" scenario modifier, in addition to the allied artillery from the artillery fire base - I don't think it could have been any easier if I'd tried.]
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

NickAragua wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:35 pm [x] Help Gamma-Probe with their screening action. Not very effective but keeps artillery from accidentally shelling loot.
[] Help Gamma-Battle with their capture operation. Effective against slow units and stationary targets, but might blow up loot.
[] Split fire. Formality for Gamma-Probe. Less collateral damage for Gamma-Battle.
Loot is important.

As a side note - that was a really nice urban map - was a custom one or software generated?
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by TheMix »

Leraje wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:49 pm
NickAragua wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:35 pm [x] Help Gamma-Probe with their screening action. Not very effective but keeps artillery from accidentally shelling loot.
[] Help Gamma-Battle with their capture operation. Effective against slow units and stationary targets, but might blow up loot.
[] Split fire. Formality for Gamma-Probe. Less collateral damage for Gamma-Battle.
Loot is important.

As a side note - that was a really nice urban map - was a custom one or software generated?
Agreed. Seems like we want to minimize potential damage to the goodies.

Also, I was certainly expecting more from the enemy heavy mechs.

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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

Leraje wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:49 pm As a side note - that was a really nice urban map - was a custom one or software generated?
Got lucky with the random map generation.
TheMix wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:54 pm Also, I was certainly expecting more from the enemy heavy mechs.
Me too, but a) the "third party" aircraft really did a number on the bad guys so we only had to kill a few before they routed and b) the stock Grand Dragon isn't that great - it's got a PPC and LRM/10 for long-range firepower, which is ok, but basically just a single medium laser for short-range (the other medium laser faces backwards). So once you close in, they're pretty tame due to minimum range penalties. As for the Orion, I hate to say it, but it could really stand to ditch some of the guns it's got mounted in favor of heat sinks.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

NickAragua wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 9:01 pm As for the Orion, I hate to say it, but it could really stand to ditch some of the guns it's got mounted in favor of heat sinks.
It is one of those mechs that screams for DHS upgrade.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by $iljanus »

Leraje wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:49 pm
NickAragua wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:35 pm [x] Help Gamma-Probe with their screening action. Not very effective but keeps artillery from accidentally shelling loot.
[] Help Gamma-Battle with their capture operation. Effective against slow units and stationary targets, but might blow up loot.
[] Split fire. Formality for Gamma-Probe. Less collateral damage for Gamma-Battle.
Loot is important.

As a side note - that was a really nice urban map - was a custom one or software generated?
Yeah, it’s all about the loot!
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Zenn7 »

$iljanus wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 9:38 pm
Leraje wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:49 pm
NickAragua wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 8:35 pm [x] Help Gamma-Probe with their screening action. Not very effective but keeps artillery from accidentally shelling loot.
[] Help Gamma-Battle with their capture operation. Effective against slow units and stationary targets, but might blow up loot.
[] Split fire. Formality for Gamma-Probe. Less collateral damage for Gamma-Battle.
Loot is important.

As a side note - that was a really nice urban map - was a custom one or software generated?
Yeah, it’s all about the loot!
Yep, just hope they don't hit Gamma-Probe while trying to hit the mobile enemy.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

Zenn7 wrote: Mon May 17, 2021 10:36 pm Yep, just hope they don't hit Gamma-Probe while trying to hit the mobile enemy.
You had to go ahead and mention that, jinx.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Captainwolfer »

Here’s my suggestion: We use the Arrow IV launcher to support Gamma-Battle with TAG homing missiles, while the other artillery supports Gamma probe. Homing Arrow IVs will only ever hit things marked with a TAG, so there is no risk of stray shells landing on the loot
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Zenn7 »

Captainwolfer wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 2:28 am Here’s my suggestion: We use the Arrow IV launcher to support Gamma-Battle with TAG homing missiles, while the other artillery supports Gamma probe. Homing Arrow IVs will only ever hit things marked with a TAG, so there is no risk of stray shells landing on the loot
Assuming you are correct, that's a great idea! Seems like last time, they lobbed the Arrow IVs w/o TAG though. Any concern they might lob again before we get TAG'd targets for them?
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Support Gamma-Probe to avoid damaging loot
Redirect Chaparral to Gamma-Battle using homing Arrow IVs exclusively
The homing Arrow IVs will actually *only* home in on TAGged targets, and will self-destruct in mid-air if there are no such targets, so that's the optimal artillery type for scenarios where we want to preserve the surrounding area.

Leraje issues some instructions to the mercs - three artillery tubes open fire on the forces engaging Gamma-Probe. Additionally, our merc buddies vector a pair of Lucifers in our direction.

"Upskirt reporting! Hooch n' Scooch reporting!" comes a pair of relatively cheery voices from our Falcon hovertanks.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
The lance advances, AWS hanging back to transform into hybrid air-mech mode - this (relatively) wide open terrain is perfect for pouring on the speed. Other than being able to transform into a (not terribly great) aerospace fighter, the land-air mech's main advantage is being able to transform into "air-mech" mode, which lets you zip along like a wing-in-ground-effect vehicle. It's super fast but a little hard to handle. However, in open terrain, there's little risk of crashing, so you can zip along for hit and run attacks.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
AWS easily overtakes the group, opening fire at a Pegasus that's closed the range. A hostile Maxim opens up on one of our Falcons, a few LRMs puncturing the skirt. "We're dead in the water! Bailing out!" comes the report.

AWS scoffs. "That's what you get for giving your tank a dumb name."

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
Our Phoenix Hawk avoids most of an SRM salvo from an approaching Plainsman hovertank, while its anti-missile system swats a few stray warheads away that *were* going to hit our mech. AWS gets a little mixed up and pelted by SRMs from a Pegasus, but Akalon drills it through the right side, slicing through the skirt and lift fans with the clan-spec lasers.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
A couple of artillery shells actually catch one of the militia hovercraft and one of the tanks - no major damage, but it feels good. That and about two thirds of a platoon of infantry that just dismounted from a Maxim get scattered to the four winds.

Our mechs engage incoming hovercraft, giving about as good as we get in terms of armor damage. Akalon takes a minor SRM and Locust beating, while Bass kicks over a Saracen hovertank, flipping it upside down like a turtle.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
AWS flies back in, but this particular ten seconds is pretty unproductive, our mechs more concerned with avoiding getting pinned down than delivering damage.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
"Heads up, air support incoming." Akalon informs the lance, which scatters from cluster of hovertanks about to get bombed. The merc aerospace fighters have brought interesting ordnance - one drops a load of inferno bombs, the other a load of self-burrowing land mines. The inerno bombs cause a pair of hovertanks' ammo bins to detonate.

A Locust engages Bass' mech from behind but fails to breach armor while eating a pulse laser to the right weapons mount. Akalon and the other Phoenix Hawk use the distraction of the fireworks to splatter a Galleon tank that gets a little too close to them.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
The allied artillery lands a hit close enough to a Vedette to blow its treads off. The aerospace fighters continue their attack runs, one disabling a Manticore as the tank is distracted by AWS' approach, while the other helps the Hooch n' Schooch take out an LRM Carrier. The Locust to the north continues hounding Bass, until our mechwarrior maneuvers it into a position where our other Phoenix Hawk is able to intercept and deliver a kick that rips one of the bug mech's actuators and sends it to the ground. Well, it was a good try, little guy.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
Image
With allied artillery eliminating another infantry platoon, the Hooch n' Scooch zips around the back of the enemy formation and pumps short range missiles into the back of a Vedette, causing the medium tank to throw both treads.

The allied Lucifers strafe the Locust as it continues to doggedly pursue our Phoenix Hawk (having switch targets from Bass), and blast it pretty good, causing the bug mech to drop to the ground again, this time with major gyro damage and a third of its torso missing. The mechwarrior bails out in short order.

The rest of the hovercraft and the couple of remaining light armored vehicles beat a quick retreat to the south as the flames from the inferno bombs die down. That road is going to be pretty unusable with all the land mines that got dropped on it, though. We could clean them up to avoid civilian casualties, but then Gamma-Probe wouldn't be able to help Gamma-Battle lance.

[] Leave them there, go help Gamma-Battle
[] Clean up, more "good will" leverage in any future prisoner exchange negotiations
[] Reinforce Gamma-Battle now, come back later (might get intercepted and have to fight again)
[] Let the Kurita guys know about it and let them handle it
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