Author Topic: Idiosyncratic quibbling  (Read 9796 times)

Hominid Mk II

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Idiosyncratic quibbling
« on: 07 September 2017, 12:07:11 »
What is your favorite gripe that amounts to nothing but pure pedantry and nit-picking on your part, rather than being about anything of any real importance?

I'll start the ball rolling. I don't like the name of the Axumite Providence, even though I do think they're interesting as a basic concept for a minor faction. The Axumite Dynasty of medieval Ethiopia were Coptic Christians, as were a majority of their subjects, and were based in East Africa. IMHO, a better idea for a name for a society of Muslims of West and North African descent would have been to recycle the name of the Songhay Empire. (Look them up at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songhai_Empire if you're interested.)  I'm sure people with a more detailed knowledge of history can make better suggestions still, but I seriously doubt anybody would suggest calling them the Axumite Providence if we weren't already stuck with the name.
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #1 on: 07 September 2017, 16:03:16 »
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #2 on: 07 September 2017, 17:55:05 »
Oh great, you broke Adrian! ;D

I think my personal favorite is how dropship fusion engines have efficiency measured in triple digit percent, when the math happens.  Cray could probably explain more.
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #3 on: 07 September 2017, 18:52:30 »
Sad, but true enough.  Not even pure matter/anti-matter annihilation can get there.

Unfortunately, my favorite gripe (the current vertical landing rules for aerodyne small craft) has real impact (I want my Mark VII back without having to resort to house rules or a non-canon design).

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #4 on: 07 September 2017, 19:25:57 »
WarShip mylar armour. Seriously.
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #5 on: 07 September 2017, 19:53:19 »
Vertical space has no effect on range. On the bright side I don't have to have a hypotenuse chart to calculate if I can shoot that yellow jacket...

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HABeas2

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #6 on: 07 September 2017, 20:46:30 »
The very existence of the Unseen.

The way effective ranges for weapons drastically change when you mount the same gun on a Mech vs a fighter.

The notion of technological decline across thousands of worlds over several centuries.

WarShips.

ComStar.

How in hell did BattleMechs even BECOME the most powerful weapon system, given their obvious strategic disadvantages (piss-poor targeting/range effectiveness; incredibly large tactical silhouettes)?

Why the game system still insists on running with 1980s rules aesthetics as its core when faster play mechanics have been developed and actually draw more attention from younger players.

The notion that the universe had one of its most explosive expansion periods during the pre-Age of War period, when people from bankrupted nations somehow managed to contract enough shipping to settle worlds dozens of even hundreds of LY from Earth.

The two-dimensional space map.

House Davion.

Humanity.

Wait. That last one is my real-life quibble. Never mind!

 O0

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #7 on: 07 September 2017, 21:34:01 »
What Herb said.

I don't want to talk about xenobiology in BT. This relates specifically to how BT is really based on 1970s pop-fantasy sci-fi yet gets wrapped up in anachronistic hard sci-fi elements. Just pick one, dammit.

And let's not talk about phantom mech syndrome.

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #8 on: 07 September 2017, 21:42:29 »
Aerospace Fighters.  2 free MP and no structural mass make them broken, in my opinion.  Especially against other Aero units like Small Craft.

That despite the ravages of the Succession Wars, the Successor States really only traded border worlds back and forth.  Some balkanization following the fall of the Star League would have been interesting.

Or: Inner Sphere is too big.  An earth-type world is large, a solar system is huge.  Lots of places to play within a smaller number of star systems.

:snip:
+1 on most of that.
« Last Edit: 07 September 2017, 21:44:04 by Siden Pryde »

ANS Kamas P81

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #9 on: 07 September 2017, 22:03:01 »
Or: Inner Sphere is too big.  An earth-type world is large, a solar system is huge.  Lots of places to play within a smaller number of star systems.
TRAPPIST-1 boasts seven earth-sized worlds in its biozone.  You could run the Inner Sphere in miniature there.
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #10 on: 07 September 2017, 22:31:13 »
I think my personal favorite is how dropship fusion engines have efficiency measured in triple digit percent, when the math happens.  Cray could probably explain more.
Sad, but true enough.  Not even pure matter/anti-matter annihilation can get there.
well, IIRC the inventors of the KF drive started work on hyperspace stuff based on observations of oddities in Fusion engine cores.. there might be some scifi weirdness going on in there making the output way better than it ought to be.

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #11 on: 07 September 2017, 22:31:51 »
The Inner Sphere is, supposedly, 'militarized'.

But when you look at the actual numbers compared to current day Earth, the factional armed forces are very thin. The caveat is, of course, that we mostly talk about the famous and the infamous.

The U.S. Army has approximately 12 Divisions. 12 Divisions is roughly 36 Brigades, or maybe call it 50-75 odd regimental size units, if we suss it out by the standard 1 to 3-5 ratios. Granted, it's Earth's most expensive force, counting in the other branches, of course, but the whole U.S armed forces is not the largest by manpower. China has 2+ million under arms, now add in India at least a million, Russia, North Korea, Pakistan, South Korea, Turkey, etc.

It really starts to add up.

But then we go to the BTU. Granted, the populations of most worlds are much smaller, but there are factions with a number of planets that can reach upward of 100 worlds to counter smaller populations. I'm not doing hard calculus here.

A major capital world or important strategic place would probably be considered well-defended if it could boast what? Lumping BattleMechs, armor and infantry together we typically count 5 to 8 regiments plus maybe 3 regiments of militia for a grand total of 10 to 12. So, if I'm invading New Avalon, and the Davions are ready, and I'm looking at 10-12 regiments of defenders, we're talking a major event in the timeline. Most of the time, it's maybe half those numbers for a notable battle and the very rare Tukkyidd event where it's a massive pile-on of everything a faction's got.

So, my point is, when we talk about the BTU, I think we're talking about an OPTIMISTIC universe where the population to military ratio is generally much, much lower than it is on Earth at the current time. Yet we tend to talk and write about it as if it were heavily militarized. What it does have is eras with the heavy use of weapons of mass destruction, which on Earth would be a game-ender, since it's only one planet.
« Last Edit: 07 September 2017, 22:52:20 by Easy »

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #12 on: 07 September 2017, 22:43:50 »
Regular old single strength heat sinks.  Big part of the game, but give me double freezers all day long.  But what's a guy gonna do... :P
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #13 on: 08 September 2017, 00:01:16 »
Vertical space has no effect on range. On the bright side I don't have to have a hypotenuse chart to calculate if I can shoot that yellow jacket...

One could simply rule that every elevation up/down reduces range by 1 (because I don;t want to start accounting for Gravity drop for Ballistics :P)

But as an add on, the max elevation is 500 or 3 Kilometers, but if it is one Hex away, the range 1.

Further, no matter what, Aerospace operate on Altitudes, and VTOLs operate on Elevations and never the twain shall meet.
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #14 on: 08 September 2017, 01:26:57 »
LAMs. You didn't need to use all the art you got, early Fasa!
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #15 on: 08 September 2017, 05:33:01 »
Lack of consistency with Clan names.  Mongoose, Widowmaker, Wolf, and Wolverine.  Why don't they get a prefix?  Was there a reason?  Is it because they all start with the letter 'W' (or an upside down 'W' in the case of the Mongoose)?

Also Burrock. 

Which still fits if you think of a 'B' as a sort of sideways, cursive 'W' with some extra lines.
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #16 on: 08 September 2017, 07:37:36 »
The Clans, period!

No aliens but there are plenty of aliens, just look at the freakin books people!

Fasanomics!!

Canon beating Cannons.

What the hell is Focht going on about Earth not being important!!!

Despite lifespans increasing dramatically rulers of nations with hundreds of planets can't make it out of their 50s!!!!

Why haven't they invented Triple Heat Sinks yet? Quadruple Heat Sinks better show up by 3250!

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #17 on: 08 September 2017, 07:48:26 »
Despite lifespans increasing dramatically rulers of nations with hundreds of planets can't make it out of their 50s!!!!

This is less an issue with life-span or medicine and more a matter of stress most likely. If you look at leaders today, they age rather dramatically while in office, much more then their age should indicate.

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #18 on: 08 September 2017, 10:19:37 »
I think my quibble is over the idea that we can't have crit tables for other units.

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #19 on: 08 September 2017, 13:13:04 »
I think we lost sight of what a quibble is

"I have quibbles with the architecture. The foundation. Tear it out!"

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Tyler Jorgensson

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #20 on: 08 September 2017, 13:25:21 »
Why bother having IS made Heat sinks, Endo-Steel, Ferro Fiberous Armor, and some weapons while clan Tech is clearly superior in 3150.
« Last Edit: 08 September 2017, 15:50:10 by Tyler Jorgensson »

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #21 on: 08 September 2017, 14:26:02 »
Yeah, some of this stuff I would certainly call more than just a quibble. Here are a couple of mine, and let me preface them by saying that most of them exist because this is just a game and it needs to have some silly abstractions for game reasons:

  • It's been how many years now and we can't put double heat sinks on a tank? I mean, XXL Engines are fine, but no freezers?
  • Why don't missiles and AC's generate heat when they are on a vehicle?
  • IS Medium lasers became common in 2310...how in the world are the still relevant in 3150? It's like someone pulled a sword from the battle of Hastings out of a museum so they could stop the tanks rolling down the street!
  • So, if two mechs try to enter a 30m-wide, depth 2 hole in the terrain, one must randomly cease to exist?

Honestly, this stuff doesn't bother me that much. I'm willing to allow a whole lot if it makes for a fun game and a fun setting. It makes me laugh more than anything.
« Last Edit: 08 September 2017, 14:27:35 by sadlerbw »

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #22 on: 08 September 2017, 15:59:00 »
Omnis only being used with fixed configs, instead of total customization due to mission profile.
Tech creep
AccountTech
The sheer number of Mechs, impossible to know your enemy anymore without 756234 different TROs
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #23 on: 08 September 2017, 16:10:53 »
The extra e in Cecerops.

I never got published on BattleCorps.

That more main characters aren't ambidextrous.

The disturbing lack of information on the favorite food of each national leader.

I never submitted anything to BattleCorps.

Herb wouldn't let me nuke the Hesperus factories in ER3145.

Two sourcebooks were printed with the same stock number. I don't actually remember which ones they were but ****** it really chaps my hide!

Look, I always meant to submit something to BattleCorps, I just never actually got around to it. Get off my back, man!

Nobody thinks I'm funny. Oh wait, that's a quibble with life, not BattleTech.

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #24 on: 08 September 2017, 16:16:43 »
I never got published on BattleCorps.

I never submitted anything to BattleCorps.

Look, I always meant to submit something to BattleCorps, I just never actually got around to it. Get off my back, man!

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #25 on: 08 September 2017, 16:46:31 »
Hey now, don't forget your Inkspot Irregulars Unit Digest.

And, once again, reality ruins my fun.

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #26 on: 08 September 2017, 17:10:07 »
Oh yeah, basically every word that comes out of Fotch's mouth.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #27 on: 08 September 2017, 17:36:54 »
This is less an issue with life-span or medicine and more a matter of stress most likely. If you look at leaders today, they age rather dramatically while in office, much more then their age should indicate.

BT rulers have to contend with a hostile work environment of the worst sort.

As Theodore Kuritas internal monologue in "Black Dragon" put it: "Few rulers in the Inner Sphere died in their beds. And even those that did, usually didn´t do it on their own volition."
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #28 on: 08 September 2017, 21:15:04 »
Energy weapons - the most high tech weapons in the game - are cheap.

Autocannons - basically 1000 year old technology - are expensive.

 ???
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Re: Idiosyncratic quibbling
« Reply #29 on: 08 September 2017, 22:11:24 »
Energy weapons - the most high tech weapons in the game - are cheap.

Autocannons - basically 1000 year old technology - are expensive.

 ???

how huge of a change (in terms of C-Bill cost) would it be if Lasers were priced to be higher than various model AC's?