Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

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

Post by TheMix »

$iljanus wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 9:30 am
Zenn7 wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 8:44 pm
Leraje wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 6:55 pm
El Guapo wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 5:56 pm
NickAragua wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 4:43 pm
[X] Reserve the right to bring aerospace fighters to future fights
- risking interception by Wolf's Dragoons orbital people
[] Don't really want to fight neutral-aligned aerospace fighters
Let's have them ready to scramble, such that if another mech company uses fighters we have ours ready to counter. I wouldn't deploy them proactively yet, unless this starts becoming a trend in our engagements.
Agreed.
Good call.
We won't be the ones deploying fighters first so I'm all for having them ready if the opposition puts up some fighters.
Yup.

It would also be nice if we could get some clearance ahead of time that it's acceptable to field aerospace units if the opponents do. But clearly that won't happen.

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

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Reserve the right to bring ASF to future fights; but don't do it first |||||||
Don't bring ASF to future fights ||||
Zenn7 continues scowling, not entirely convinced. Our aerospace fighters are put on alert, although the standing orders are to stay grounded until we see hostile aerospace units coming in - we don't want to instigate a fight with "Dragoon Orbital" unless we're forced to.

---

Day 2
Moonraker Landing Zone

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
"Epsilon-Two, this is Epsilon Lead. I need you to wake up in there and re-join the formation; we've got a fight to go to." Leraje tells Moley - the Thor has fallen behind.

"Sorry, Lead, just need a minute to sort this out, my sensors are freaking out for some reason. I think it needs a reboot." Moley replies.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
"Better hurry up, Two, or you'll miss the action. Lead out."

"Hey, uh, local net, this is Private Nguyen over by the APUs, are our Waddles out on patrol or something?"

"Uh... not that I know of." Moley replies. "Why?"

"'cause there's two squads of Waddles running right at my APU, and they got their grenade launchers pointed at us and everything."

"IFF?" Moley asks, somewhat concerned.

"Uh... that's a negative." the private replies.

"Well, challenge or shoot them! I'm on my way back! Moonraker, seal all entrances we have hostile battle armor in the perimeter!" Moley barks, turning the Thor around and pushing the throttle forward. Maybe the sensors *weren't* malfunctioning!

Private Nguyen issues the challenge, but the Waddles don't respond. They're probably not ours. A laser connects with one of the battle armor troopers, but he takes the hit like a champ and continues waddling forward.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
"You hooked up to the dropship, private?" Moley asks, somewhat concerned. If an APU experiences a "negative feedback event" while hooked up to a dropship, that can result in severe damage to the dropship's electrical systems. It won't blow up or anything, but costs a lot of money and takes time to repair.

"Yes sir. Usually takes a few minutes to disconnect, and that's if we're not being shot at." the private responds, blasting away with the single laser cannon on top of the APU - the trooper he'd hit previously takes another hit, and this time the laser blast goes right through.

Moley acquires a couple of the hostile Waddles, evaporating one with a PPC shot while two others are blasted to bits with LRMs. Grenades thump against Pvt. Nguyen's APU, blasting chunks off the armor. "Shit, they've got my turret locked up!" the private reports.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
The squad that Moley targeted has exactly one trooper remaining, whose armor appears to be purely symbolic at this point, and the trooper flails around, trying to get out of line of sight. Our mechwarrior has more important targets at this point, however, namely, the Waddles swarming all over the private's APU, blasting away with grenade launchers - chunks fly off the vehicle even as Moley is able to peel another two off with a PPC shot and LRMs - their "stealth" armor making targeting a little bit difficult at longer ranges.
Spoiler:

Round 5:
Image
Moley methodically blasts away with the Summoner's PPC and LRMs, evaporating and exploding another three troopers; meanwhile, the LBX autocannon perforates a closer one as the little guys ping our mech with some grenades. The APU continues returning fire, although its turret can't traverse too much, and manages to blow through another trooper. The grenades continue coming in, and Moley's eyes widen as the APU's turret blows off, an electrical surge traveling towards the powered-down dropship. Generally speaking, lots of electrical arcs and sparks flying out of a dropship doesn't indicate anything good.

Round 6-7:
Spoiler:
Image
With the first APU destroyed, the remaining battle armor has to cross a little bit of distance and navigate around the bulk of the dropship. Moley takes the opportunity to continue unloading the Summoner's weapons into them, three more battle armor troopers passing onto the next world.

At this point, Moley's decided to just not move the mech - that way, he can fire all three of the Summoner's weapons without having to wait for the heat indicator to come down and the mech to stop beeping. Another two waddles go down, although a couple are able to hide behind the second APU.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
Image
The two Waddles hiding behind the APU decide to back away, leaving Moley without too many targets - no, wait, there are some up the hill over there. A burst of cluster rounds from the LBX autocannon lets them know Moley is there, by sawing one in half.

Round 9:
Spoiler:
Image
Moley sniffs as the remaining battle armor troopers fall back to the north, except for one poor guy who's gotten stuck in between a couple of rocks. Moley sends long-range weapons fire after the retreating Waddles, just to make sure they keep going, taking out another two.

Props go to the eagle-eyed private in the destroyed APU who spotted them in the first place and even took out three of them. Unfortunately, he did not survive. While we took out about twenty of the little bastards, they blew up one of our APUs, which caused major electrical damage to the Moonraker. At this point, we can either dedicate the tech teams to helping track down and fix all the damage to the dropship - they won't be able to work on mechs, but we'll get the dropship back into action (mostly as a stationary repair bay) faster. Or, we could tell them to get to work outside - "field conditions" are a little bit of a pain to work with, what with no gantries and heavy lift equipment and being exposed to the elements, but it should be ok for minor armor patches and the like.

How do we handle this?

[] "Good news, you're working outside now!"
- Retain repair capability, but at a penalty to all repair rolls, possibly leading to busted equipment
[] "Better fix the dropship first."
- Lose four hangars for the rest of the day
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Zenn7 »

Damnit - DO NOT IGNORE SENSOR GHOSTS!

Get the Moonraker back on line, we're not taking unnecessary chances with field repairs with all this super-hi tech we've got.

To our employer liaison - any other surprises like this stealth battle armor we might want to know about?
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by TheMix »

What are the ramifications to our "contract"? I mean, we are basically working for free, so if we have to tell them that we can't join a fight because we don't have combat-ready mechs, then ...? I'm inclined to get our dropship fixed first. Since it's ours. And I don't like the idea of having an immobile dropship sitting as a target.

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

Post by Leraje »

NickAragua wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 3:48 pm [] "Good news, you're working outside now!"
- Retain repair capability, but at a penalty to all repair rolls, possibly leading to busted equipment
[x] "Better fix the dropship first."
- Lose four hangars for the rest of the day
And keep DS crews on alert - they have sensors and weapons for a reason.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by TotallyNotEvil »

TheMix wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 4:30 pm What are the ramifications to our "contract"? I mean, we are basically working for free, so if we have to tell them that we can't join a fight because we don't have combat-ready mechs, then ...? I'm inclined to get our dropship fixed first. Since it's ours. And I don't like the idea of having an immobile dropship sitting as a target.
As I understand it, we will round up our contributions at the end of everything so we can properly get salvage, and, presumably, being that we are helping with a civil war, we will get favor and goodies from our side if they emerge victorious- which they damn well should, given the amount of heavy lifting we are doing here.

I mean, that doesn't need to be stated out when you are helping one side of a coup, right?

Regardless, let's take a moment to appreciate the poor private, and the fact that the terrifying battle armor bombarding our APU with grenades was "look at that little guy, trying his best" when they are up against mechs.

What do the APUs do, btw?
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by El Guapo »

Leraje wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 4:35 pm
NickAragua wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 3:48 pm [] "Good news, you're working outside now!"
- Retain repair capability, but at a penalty to all repair rolls, possibly leading to busted equipment
[x] "Better fix the dropship first."
- Lose four hangars for the rest of the day
And keep DS crews on alert - they have sensors and weapons for a reason.
Agreed.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by $iljanus »

El Guapo wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 6:36 pm
Leraje wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 4:35 pm
NickAragua wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 3:48 pm [] "Good news, you're working outside now!"
- Retain repair capability, but at a penalty to all repair rolls, possibly leading to busted equipment
[x] "Better fix the dropship first."
- Lose four hangars for the rest of the day
And keep DS crews on alert - they have sensors and weapons for a reason.
Agreed.
Unless the need to fix our mechs is dire I agree with getting the drop ship patched up. Those waddles were a real pain in the ass but hats off to their foolhardy bravery. Also, I'd like to have some of that stealth tech...
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

TotallyNotEvil wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 5:38 pm What do the APUs do, btw?
SV informs me that the acronym likely stands for "Auxiliary Power Unit". They're basically "portable" battery units that you hook up to a dropship so you can run basic systems while the internal engine and power generator are shut down.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Isgrimnur »

Also known as a "start cart".
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

$iljanus wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 6:55 pm Also, I'd like to have some of that stealth tech...
We actually do have a squad of our own Waddles. The trick is sneaking up on the bad guys, which we are not terribly good at, stealth armor or not. But we've used them in the past to plant minefields and conduct minor pre-battle sabotage.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by $iljanus »

NickAragua wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 9:05 pm
$iljanus wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 6:55 pm Also, I'd like to have some of that stealth tech...
We actually do have a squad of our own Waddles. The trick is sneaking up on the bad guys, which we are not terribly good at, stealth armor or not. But we've used them in the past to plant minefields and conduct minor pre-battle sabotage.
Thanks for the info! Granted we may need a bit of improvement in being sneaky but it’s still cool.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by moleymoleymoley »

That was a cool little mission, all that xp :twisted:
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

Looks like one of us made a guest appearance in Mechwarrior 5:
Spoiler:
Image
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by TheMix »

That's funny! Are they sure it wasn't a blimp though?

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

Post by Hyena »

Yeah, I don't think El Guapo would be caught dead in a Banshee...not enough helium bladders to keep it airborn.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

Hyena wrote: Sat Jul 23, 2022 12:22 pm Yeah, I don't think El Guapo would be caught dead in a Banshee...not enough helium bladders to keep it airborn.
That's where "customizing" comes into play...
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by El Guapo »

Didn't I use a (modified) Banshee earlier in this game / campaign? IIRC it was modified so that it had, you know, weapons and stuff, but I recall it being pretty decent.

I mean...I've never used a Banshee and don't even know what one looks like.

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

Post by NickAragua »

El Guapo wrote: Sat Jul 23, 2022 5:12 pm Didn't I use a (modified) Banshee earlier in this game / campaign? IIRC it was modified so that it had, you know, weapons and stuff, but I recall it being pretty decent.
Yep. It got blown up, though. Ammo explosion, very traumatic.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Fix the dropship first - unanimous
"So, let me get this straight." Xwraith asks. "THE Wolf has come out of seclusion and wants to draw the leader of the rebels, or whatever you call them, Alpin, into a bunch of gullies out here, kick his ass and put an end to this. He's sending Maeve to do it."

"Right." Leraje confirms.

"But one of Maeve's sub-commanders is concerned that the Alpin guys are going to try to go into these super secret tunnels behind us that nobody knows about and emerge behind one of the blocking forces."

"Good, you were paying attention." Leraje confirms.

"So I'm just asking, if these tunnels are so secret, how come both sides of the fight know about them?" Xwraith continues.

"I'm sorry you're bored, Corporal." Leraje replies with a chuckle. "But look on the bright side, I'm detecting sensor contacts coming out of that swamp to the south. Let's get this show on the road. I just hope Moley gets over here with that Summoner quickly, we're looking at two lances of mechs heading towards those tunnels."

Hyena, not having Moley to whisper to, remains silent.

Our short lance (Leraje/Warhawk, Hyena/Timber Wolf, Xwraith/Thunderbolt) takes up position in front of a waterfall, the mist providing very smoke-like cover for our mechs. Without even having to set anything on fire, it's pretty nice!

Round 1:
[camera feed disrupted]
A hostile mech hops through the swamp - identified as a Nightsky. A blocky, ugly thing, this is a next-generation Hatchetman. Built to be faster, with a lot of pulse lasers for up-close firepower, and, of course a hatchet. Hyena blasts it with a pair of PPC shots and a pulse laser in the center of mass as it splashes down, causing a torso armor breach. Xwraith's LRMs ding it in the head and splash into the water. The 50-ton mech drops down to a knee in the rapidly-flowing river coming down from the rather tall hill behind our mechs.

Leraje opens up on an approaching Warhammer, hitting it with two of the Warhawk's four PPCs, then rolling his eyes as the heat alarms begin to wail.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
As it turns out, it's not that easy to cross a fast-running stream while being shot at by Clan weaponry at superior range. It's also not easy to continue running a mech forward after an extended-range PPC takes the head off, which is what happens to the Nightsky after it gets up from a knee and Hyena continues firing at it - the 50-tonner drops to the ground and stops moving, although Not before Xwraith's streak SRMs puncture the weakened center torso armor and cause its heat levels to briefly spike.

Leraje, meanwhile, continues blasting away at the Warhammer, whose mechwarrior wakes up and returns fire - armor peels off the Warhawk's right arm, but the Warhammer gets the worst of it. A PPC shot boils water in front of the hostile 70-tonner, then two connect to the right side, frying one of its particle cannons - which then gets cooled off when the Warhammer drops under water.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
A Wolverine decides to take cover in the river in front of us, although nobody would bet that he did it voluntarily. That leaves the Griffin - which Leraje leaves to Hyena and Xwraith. Leraje's target, the Warhammer, levers itself out of the water, leaving itself open to a back shot from the Warhawk - two PPC blasts completely core it out, leaving it a wrecked husk which splashes back down.

Xwraith and Hyena focus fire on the Griffin, which gamely returns what it can, damaging our armor somewhat while its buddies try to provide long-range fire support. Xwraith also directs laser fire and LRMs at the Hatchetman, using the Thunderbolt's specialized targeting computer to maximum effect. Both medium mechs wind up in the drink, probably partially flooded in.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
With two medium mechs now closing in on our position, Xwraith steps out of the smoke briefly to try to trip up the Wolverine, while sending LRMs at the more distant Hatchetman. Suddenly, our mechwarrior's vision doubles as something solid spangs off the upper half of the cockpit and LBX pellets pitter patter around the head. Xwraith has enough presence of mind to notice that the Thunderbolt is now keeling over and puts the left arm out to brace against the fall, which does the trick, but also crunches a machine gun and leaves a bunch of coolant fluid on the ground.

Hyena has some trouble as well - the Wolverine and a distant Rifleman blast away at it with an ultra autocannon and SRMs in the former case and lasers in the latter. Normally our mechwarrior would be able to keep upright under that kind of "light" barrage, but the fast-flowing river leaves little room for error and the Timber Wolf temporarily sinks underwater.

The hostiles aren't entirely untouched - the Hatchetman loses its right arm (the one with the hatchet) to Xwraith's LRMs, while the Rifleman sprays coolant fluid every which way after multiple hits from Leraje's PPCs.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
"Shit, that Wolverine's getting away!" Xwraith calls out.

"Leave him. We can't pursue anyway. Focus on the others." Leraje responds.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one getting shot in the ass." Xwraith mumbles off-comms.

Leraje does, indeed make it look easy - continuing to fire at the Rifleman, a pair of PPC shot shears off its right side and about a third of its XL engine, dropping both mech and its disconnected left arm into the river. Hyena, getting up and shaking the Timber Wolf off, focuses most fire on the Penetrator trying to get past us, succeeding in dropping it to a knee. The Penetrator is a no-slouch 75-ton heavy mech, packing twin extended-range lasers, one in each arm, while six medium pulse lasers line the torso, accompanied by an anti-missile system. In fact, the design is based on the clan Nova, with its staggering laser array, although it's a lot less maneuverable.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
Watching the Griffin try to get up in the fast-flowing river is somewhat comical - the mechwarrior makes three separate attempts before the armor on the left leg decides to split open all the way to the torso. When the mech hits the water after the third attempt, a cloud of steam emerges as the water invites itself into the engine compartment, forcing a total system shut down.

The Hatchetman suffers a similar failure, as Leraje's Warhawk continues collecting torso sections. For mechs with XL engine, this takes them entirely out of the fight (and in the Hatchetman's case, drops them into the drink). Leraje permits himself a lop-sided smirk before noting with dismay that the Hatchetman's final shot connected with Hyena's Timber Wolf.

The 75-ton machine wobbles and drops beneath the fast-flowing water, to join the several other mechs at the bottom, its heat signature quickly dropping to match the surrounding environment.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
"Uh, boss?" Xwraith calls out. "We've got sensor signatures coming in behind us."

Leraje sniffs. The addition of over 300 tons of mech behind our force isn't exactly what you'd call good news.

"Where'd they come from?" Leraje asks, doing some quick mental math.

"I dunno, the tunnels?" Xwraith responds.

"Great. Any more good news?" Leraje asks nobody in particular, wiping a hand across his chin to clear off some of the dripping sweat.

"Epsilon-Four reporting, ETA twenty seconds." Moley calls in. "Mostly green."

"That's great, four, but we're outnumbered more than three to one and are bugging out. But you can come help cover our retreat!" Leraje responds, blasting one of the Archers approaching from the north with a both left-arm PPCs as he turns the Warhawk southeast. Xwraith splits off to the west instead.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
Image
Leraje cringes as a 100-ton behemoth saunters up to the cliff-side he was using for cover from the twin Archers' murderous LRM barrage. The Warhawk is pounded by short-range ordnance - pulse lasers, SRMs, even some rapid fire projectiles from an overridden anti-missile system. The armor holds long enough that our mechwarrior is able to turn the Warhawk to the left a little and unload four PPC shots at the offending mech (a "Grand Titan", according to the targeting system). With its head smoking, it falls backwards and out of sight on top of the cliff.

Xwraith takes some LRMs while retreating, but nothing that prevents our mechwarrior from leaving the area, either, giving the Penetrator a good solid kick to the back of its right leg on the way out, causing it to stumble to the ground.

"Sorry, guys." Leraje calls out a report on the way out. "We couldn't stop them all. Two Archers, damaged Wolverine, damaged Penetrator, Caesar and a Battlemaster are still back there, heading to bail their leader out. Alpha, Delta, Zeta... you'll have to stop them and whatever else they have on the other side of these tunnels."

"Understood, Epsilon Lead." El Guapo responds.

Our main choice here is how to handle recovery operations. The area won't really be secure for proper salvage (not that we control it anyway at the moment) for a while. Hyena's emergency transponder is continues pinging away, indicating our mechwarrior is still alive. Moley is "strongly insistent" on trying to recover the mechwarrior immediately - with the engine out, the air isn't going to last forever down there. There are a couple of problems we have though.

First, between the three mechs in the area, we have exactly one hand. And the arm it's attached to has taken damage. So hauling the Timber Wolf out wholesale isn't happening. We could try anyway, awkwardly lifting the mech up using gun barrels, some kind of rigged-up rope harness or other crazy scheme, but there's a risk of further damage to... basically every mech involved. And if the Timber Wolf's cockpit is breached in the process, Hyena isn't exactly a fish. Second, it's entirely possible that more "rebel" Dragoons and their merc buddies might try to come through these tunnels while we're screwing around in the river.

A second option is to detach a mech from El Guapo's ten-mech command - most likely Cylus' Grasshopper, one of the Phoenix Hawks (AWS or SgtSoldier), Thud's Hunchback or WestOrEast's Griffin. They've got the arms to properly hook up a harness to the underwater Timber Wolf, which will let Leraje haul it out with the heavier and more powerful Warhawk. But, that means El Guapo's command will be down to nine mechs, facing the six that got away, plus whatever else is already in those tunnels.

[] Pick one of the mechs listed above
[] Leraje + crew try to handle it on their own

AN:
Spoiler:
So, it looks like I got the year for the Dragoons Civil War wrong - off by one error - it's late '53 to early '54, not late '52 to early '53. Sorry, guys.

We'll call it data corruption (happens with crappy old Inner Sphere equipment sometimes) and call it a day.
Last edited by NickAragua on Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:11 am [x] Pick one of the mechs listed above
[] Leraje + crew try to handle it on their own
Commandeer one of the Pixies. Preferably the LAM, since it'll give a faster transit time.
NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:11 am AN:
So, it looks like I got the year for the Dragoons Civil War wrong - off by one error - it's late '53 to early '54, not late '52 to early '53. Sorry, guys.

We'll call it data corruption (happens with crappy old Inner Sphere equipment sometimes) and call it a day.
Blame Comstar.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by El Guapo »

Leraje wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:48 am
NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:11 am [x] Pick one of the mechs listed above
[] Leraje + crew try to handle it on their own
Commandeer one of the Pixies. Preferably the LAM, since it'll give a faster transit time.
NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:11 am AN:
So, it looks like I got the year for the Dragoons Civil War wrong - off by one error - it's late '53 to early '54, not late '52 to early '53. Sorry, guys.

We'll call it data corruption (happens with crappy old Inner Sphere equipment sometimes) and call it a day.
Blame Comstar.
Yeah, one of my mechs seems like a much better route than trying to jury rig something.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Zenn7 »

El Guapo wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:15 am
Leraje wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:48 am
NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:11 am [x] Pick one of the mechs listed above
[] Leraje + crew try to handle it on their own
Commandeer one of the Pixies. Preferably the LAM, since it'll give a faster transit time.
NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:11 am AN:
So, it looks like I got the year for the Dragoons Civil War wrong - off by one error - it's late '53 to early '54, not late '52 to early '53. Sorry, guys.

We'll call it data corruption (happens with crappy old Inner Sphere equipment sometimes) and call it a day.
Blame Comstar.
Yeah, one of my mechs seems like a much better route than trying to jury rig something.
That seems like a pretty good amount of firepower heading your way in a situation you are likely already at best, evenly matched, if not outgunned like we usually are. You folks sure detaching another mech is really that good of an idea?
I don't want to lose our man (nor the clan mech he's in), but I also don't want to lose the 9 mech force/fight.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by TotallyNotEvil »

[X] The P-Hawk LAM

That by far the fastest, and the one we could spare the most.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by $iljanus »

Leraje wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:48 am
NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:11 am [x] Pick one of the mechs listed above
[] Leraje + crew try to handle it on their own
Commandeer one of the Pixies. Preferably the LAM, since it'll give a faster transit time.
NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 12:11 am AN:
So, it looks like I got the year for the Dragoons Civil War wrong - off by one error - it's late '53 to early '54, not late '52 to early '53. Sorry, guys.

We'll call it data corruption (happens with crappy old Inner Sphere equipment sometimes) and call it a day.
Blame Comstar.
I agree about assigning a mech for recovery duty and the LAM seems reasonable. I also agree with blaming ComStar.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by TheMix »

Add my vote to send help.

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

Post by Zarathud »

I’m ok with sending Thud, or another in the lance.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Hyena »

HELL YES SEND HELP!

I guess it was a typo, because I thought you said I "split off to the west". Unless that was the direction the river was flowing as I washed downstream...
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

Hyena wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:44 pm I guess it was a typo, because I thought you said I "split off to the west". Unless that was the direction the river was flowing as I washed downstream...
Nah, that was definitely a typo. Xwraith split off to the west, your mech is "safely" underwater.
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Freyland »

Thor: "Let's do Get Help!"

Loki: "I hate Get Help. It's embarrassing."

Thor: "Not for me it isn't."
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Hyena »

NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:57 pm
Hyena wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:44 pm I guess it was a typo, because I thought you said I "split off to the west". Unless that was the direction the river was flowing as I washed downstream...
Nah, that was definitely a typo. Xwraith split off to the west, your mech is "safely" underwater.
Well at least no one is shooting at me...right?
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

Hyena wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 3:49 pm
NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:57 pm
Hyena wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:44 pm I guess it was a typo, because I thought you said I "split off to the west". Unless that was the direction the river was flowing as I washed downstream...
Nah, that was definitely a typo. Xwraith split off to the west, your mech is "safely" underwater.
Well at least no one is shooting at me...right?
Just some fishies with guns trying to get in... or you are simply tripping due to lack of oxygen :P
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Hyena »

Leraje wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 5:53 pm
Hyena wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 3:49 pm
NickAragua wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:57 pm
Hyena wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 1:44 pm I guess it was a typo, because I thought you said I "split off to the west". Unless that was the direction the river was flowing as I washed downstream...
Nah, that was definitely a typo. Xwraith split off to the west, your mech is "safely" underwater.
Well at least no one is shooting at me...right?
Just some fishies with guns trying to get in... or you are simply tripping due to lack of oxygen :P
Do I at least have a knife? Or even like, a moderately sharp writing utensil?
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by AWS260 »

TotallyNotEvil wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 10:18 am [X] The P-Hawk LAM

That by far the fastest,
Exactly.
TotallyNotEvil wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 10:18 am and the one we could spare the most.
Hey, wait a minute...
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by moleymoleymoley »

Yup, agree the LAM, excellent headcapping lads
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by NickAragua »

Vote Results:
Spoiler:
Detach a mech - unanimous
Phoenix Hawk LAM |||||
Hunchback |
Phoenix Hawk |
Griffin |
"Corporal, you're gonna hate me... " El Guapo begins, opening a private channel to AWS. "... but I need you to take a flight."

"What, where?" AWS asks, begins, somewhat bewildered. The hostiles are already on sensors, coming out of the tunnels in the small (hopefully evacuated) city where the fight will be taking place.

"Sending coordinates now, designated nav point epsilon." El Guapo continues. "Hyena got the Timber Wolf's engine flooded somehow. Captain Jafar will brief you when you arrive, but I need you over there now before the oxygen runs out in that cockpit, someone tries to do something stupid or the hostiles come back."

AWS sighs. Missing a fight sucks, but the Phoenix Hawk LAM's flexibility will be key to saving a mechwarrior's life. Not to mention a clan-tech mech. "On my way, Captain." The LAM's engine revs, thrusters holding it aloft while the arms and legs retract and fold, the wings extending outwards. AWS engages the afterburner, heading east, low along the ground - wouldn't want those orbital guys getting the wrong idea, after all.

It takes a few minutes to hook up a harness for the Timber Wolf, which is then hauled out by Leraje's Warhawk, which begins the long trek back to our dropships.

Meanwhile, El Guapo's mildly reduced command moves to block a force emerging from the tunnels. A perfectly normal day - no snow, no rain, no nothing. Just El Guapo/Dire Wolf, Cylus/Grasshopper, Thud/Hunchback, SgtSoldier/Phoenix Hawk, Freyland/Nova and Lich/Timber Wolf.

The first group of guys to come out of the tunnels are two medium/heavy mech lances, and an assault tank lance. Plus a couple of unidentified tiny sensor blips - Waddles, from the looks of it.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
"Demolisher to the north." Cylus calls out, pinging the assault tank with the Grasshopper's laser and LRM launcher, fully intending to stay out of its range. A spare laser blast hits one of the Waddles which more or less shrugs it off. Stefan adds some LRMs from his Trebuchet, but the Demolisher keeps on trucking. Much slower, though.

A Savannah Master tries to swing in behind SgtSoldier as he moves his Phoenix Hawk along the western flank, but our mechwarrior doesn't care much for that and blasts the little tank to bits with a pulse laser.

El Guapo and Lich move their heavier mechs down the front, Lich engaging an approaching Thunderbolt with the Timber Wolf's lasers and LRMs - armor holds for the most part, except a single laser shot which nearly fries the heavy's head. El Guapo works on a Hatchetman to the north, scoring multiple hits but failing to breach armor - the Hatchetman's return fire is little LBX pellets against a 100-ton mech's armor. Lich's lasers and missiles would have hit too, but they go through an expanding debris cloud instead.

WestOrEast and an Enforcer exchange weapons fire, one our Griffin's lasers and the LRMs hitting in exchange for a laser blast from the Enforcer.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
Seeing an Archer coming around the corner, and knowing there's also a Caesar and a Marauder (none of them light mechs), SgtSoldier fires up the Phoenix Hawk's jump jets and takes cover behind a building. "Some other time," our mechwarrior concludes.

While the Thunderbolt and Hatchetman take cover from El Guapo and Lich's firepower, a Demolisher tank isn't quite fast enough - El Guapo's lasers lay open the armor, at which point a couple of lucky LBX pellets make contact with the fuel tank, detonating the AC/20-equipped assault tank. Cylus and Stefan continue working on the other Demolisher, blasting it with a large laser and LRMs, slowly chipping away at the armor.

In the east, Freyland's Nova takes a couple of lasers from an approaching Grasshopper and two swarming Savannah Masters, one of which takes a (very lightly) grazing hit from WestOrEast's PPC as he swings the Griffin's right arm around.

Thud, meanwhile, opens up on an Enforcer that's approaching Freyland and WestOrEast's battle - an AC/20 round buries itself deep in the mech's left torso, leaving it open for further damage.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
Cylus and Stefan have rattled their target Demolisher and move in to finish off - Cylus lets the Grasshopper's laser play over the assault tank's armor and hits paydirt - an ammo bin blows, scattering the tank's debris to the four winds and forcing the nearby Waddles to run for cover.

Lich's Timber Wolf rocks as a gauss rifle slug from a hostile Marauder impacts his mech's right leg. The return fire takes off a more substantial amount of armor from the hostile mech, but fails to connect with a Savannah Master that's zipped up to take a pot shot at El Guapo. El Guapo, meanwhile, is busy detonating the approaching Hatchetman's LBX ammo with pulse laser fire - the mech is equipped with case, so it remains kind of intact, but, as usual with Inner-Sphere XL engines, the loss of a side torso section forces the engine into shutdown.

SgtSoldier engages an Archer, taking two laser hits and landing a good number of his own - the heavier mech has to drop to a knee to compensate for the armor loss.

To the east, Thud continues pounding on the Enforcer, avoiding incoming weapons fire.

"What the hell are those things?" WestOrEast calls out.

"... computer says designation 'Alacorn'. It's a uh... gauss rifle tank. Get in close." Freyland responds.

And so we do, although WestOrEast's Griffin takes two gauss slugs (one to the head, but thankfully both were grazing blows) as it jumps in. As does Freyland's Nova, one slug blowing out a laser from the right arm. Freyland's counterattack slices the offending Alacorn to ribbons, while WestOrEast doesn't quite finish the other one off - Freyland gives it a kick to one of the gauss rifles, causing sparks to crawl along the magnetic coils.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
El Guapo continues his reign of terror, stomping forward and turning the Dire Wolf to the left. The Marauder fires back, supported by an Archer further back, but the reverse-jointed 75-tonner's gauss rifle explodes under the Dire Wolf's withering laser fire, which causes its engine to shut down. Our 100-tonner takes a gauss slug and a PPC bolt, but armor holds.

"XL Engines, eh?" El Guapo asks nobody in particular with a smirk.

Lich finally gets a good bead on that obnoxious little Savannah Master, evaporating the tiny hovercraft with a good laser blast. Between all the explosions, Stefan takes the time to laser one of the many Waddles running around while flattening another one - Cylus and El Guapo join the "stomp the power armor" club as well.

To the east, Thud continues letting rip with the Hunchback's autocannon, engaging a nearby Grasshopper as the Enforcer has pulled away. Autocannon rounds and pulse lasers strip the 70-ton mech's armor as it lands, then an errant pulse laser detonates the streak SRM ammo, shattering the heavy mech from inside out. Thud's Hunchback is knocked around a little by a gauss slug impact to the arm from a distant Alacorn, but the mech is all right.

To the west, SgtSoldier continues pecking at the Archer, disabling an LRM launcher with one of the Phoenix Hawk's lasers.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
Alarms blare in SgtSoldier's Phoenix Hawk as the Caesar finally comes out of hiding and blasts his mech with both a gauss slug and a PPC shot. The Caesar takes a beating from Cylus' Grasshopper in return. SgtSoldier's heat woes are exacerbated by the fact that he put two pulse lasers and a large through the back of the Archer, detonating its ammo bin and sending the mechwarrior for a flight. The Archer's last laser shots take out both our Phoenix Hawk's right arm weapons, however. With the two mechs smoking and about to to fall over, they both decide that that's enough and disengage.

Lich moves forward, baiting the Thunderbolt to move behind him, which exposes it to El Guapo's laser fire - its right arm goes limp, while one of the pulse lasers travels upwards along the right torso and makes contact with the already damaged head, evaporating it, and the mechwarrior.

WestOrEast's Griffin takes a gauss slug to the back from the Alacorn, but that's the last shot it fires - Freyland immobilizes the tank with a good amount of laser fire.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
With only two mechs left, the Waddles' grenade launchers continue to ping rounds off our mechs, but it's not enough - El Guapo fries an entire squad, while Stefan repeats the performance with another.

The Caesar pulls back, battling it out with Cylus' Grasshopper, while the Enforcer engages WestOrEast, Freyland and Thud, to some success - it only loses some armor while getting a good hit on Thud's back armor.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
Cylus and the Caesar continue pounding on each other as the 70-tonner successfully manages to avoid both El Guapo and Lich's firing arcs - Cylus loses a right arm laser and the shoulder actuator, while one of the Caesar's leg actuators is fried, which forces it to drop to a knee.

The Enforcer's adventure comes to an end as Thud sinks pulse laser blasts into it, one set disabling the LBX autocannon, the other fusing its hip actuator, and the third simply ripping through the fellow 50-tonner's left side, disabling its engine shielding. It gets one last shot off, frying one of Thud's pulse lasers, but that's about it.

Stefan spends some time hunting down the last Waddle squad, frying the battle armor with the Trebuchet's lasers. While they do have good sensor baffling mechanisms, you don't really need a full target lock to fire a laser at point blank range.

Round 8:
[camera feed disrupted]
"Last one on the field, mechwarrior." Cylus tells the guy in the Caesar over the general frequency. "Might be time to give it up."

"For me, probably yeah." comes the reply. "You'll have your turn soon enough."

The Caesar opens up with its PPC and pulse lasers on Cylus' Grasshopper once again - the 70-tonner's right arm sparks and goes limp while the medium laser on the left arm blows its capacitors, frying the hand actuator. Cylus shrugs, directing the Grasshopper's torso-mounted lasers at the Caesar as Lich makes his way around the hostile machine's back - the large laser goes directly through the cockpit. For a moment, the battlefield is clear, with the exception of two infiltrator suits waddling at a surprisingly rapid pace away to the south.

To be continued...
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by TheMix »

I have to say... I'm really glad I don't have to go up against Nick. I swear, every fight seems like we are hopelessly outnumbered, yet we pull it off. That's some excellent leading, right there!

Also, that's that Dire Wolf that sat on the hill waaaayyyyy back in the day? Glad to see we are getting some good use out of it. Since it was a pain to go up against. :D

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

Post by TotallyNotEvil »

It's not the absurdly improbable success of like five mechs taking on a company of mostly equal mechs without a single loss, but we are doing fairly well, even if we are feeling it.

Hey Nick, if it's a coverless place then it'd be great for popping those heavy smoke rounds on the Timby!
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Leraje »

Also it demonstrates very well the absurd superiority of clan tech and why we all love it so much :twisted:
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Re: Let's Play: Battletech via MegaMek (G2)

Post by Hyena »

Thanks for the rescue, AWS!
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