Author Topic: HBS Expansion Thread- its time for II (spoilers) (Read 166190 times)

Colt Ward · « **Reply #1200 on:** 23 April 2020, 20:52:02 »

Which settings on a new game? I have tried both career and campaign, and besides the choices still being too big type wise, I found a few new options but nothing to restrict the market.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #1201 on:** 23 April 2020, 21:07:29 »

I could have sworn I found a switch somewhere to return the markets to their pre-Heavy Metal levels.

Wrangler · « **Reply #1202 on:** 24 April 2020, 06:45:56 »

Its disappointing the HBS is abandoning ship of Battletech. I would thought they would try another stab at it with another kickstart, like trying to do the Dark Ages era or Jihad or something random. (Clans been sort done now. ;D)

Euphonium · « **Reply #1203 on:** 24 April 2020, 07:28:11 »

I don see it as abandoning BattleTech any more than I see them as abandoning Shadowrun. I think it's more a matter of after 3+ years of making BattleTech and three expansions they just need to work on something different for a while. I'm hoping that after their current project they will feel creatively refreshed enough to come back and give us another game for SR & BT.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #1204 on:** 24 April 2020, 09:14:27 »

Yeah, there are people who are fans of their other games and not Battletech who deserve to have HBS produce something they'll enjoy.

Colt Ward · « **Reply #1205 on:** 24 April 2020, 09:40:26 »

Yeah, to be honest right now the limited fan base is probably on MW5 . . . so it makes sense to stagger it out a bit. IIRC, even with Micro$haft was putting out MW/MC series it staggered the expansions and releases.

Colt Ward · « **Reply #1206 on:** 27 April 2020, 13:54:19 »

I hate seeing the Javelin 10A . . . running into too many of them in my latest career.

But I also see we got some new vehicles?
Scorpion II- UAC/5 w/o a MG
Striker (NARC)- NARC++ and a LRM10
Galleon (TAG)- TAG & 2 SL
Alsvin? APC- TAG? MLs? missiles? a version on the two APCs created for the game- I blew it up too quickly before I realized it was a new

And really I do not know if others are floating out there since I have only gotten to the light stage since the last update.

Anyone have saved pictures of their favorite maps- ones you would like to duplicate for MM or table top?

Alexander Knight · « **Reply #1207 on:** 11 May 2020, 08:15:07 »

Colt, there's also the Inferno Carrier. Exactly what it sounds like.

Colt Ward · « **Reply #1208 on:** 11 May 2020, 12:33:35 »

Yeah, I just saw that yesterday . . . but I am not sure it counts, since its a HBS/TW program difference. For instance, every Striker (NARC) I have seen has had NARC++. Heck, I was actually checking to make sure the Galleon did not have a TAG variant.

Euphonium · « **Reply #1209 on:** 20 May 2020, 09:35:44 »

Once you have driven your reputation all the way down to -100 with a faction is there any way you can redeem it?
I happily min-maxed as many reputations as possible to boost my career-mode score but I'd now kind of like to be able to access the black market without the 1000% mark-up without having to start a new game.

Also, does anyone know how to identify black market worlds that are more likely to have specific tech, or if which allied faction stores are good for which types of tech?

Mendrugo · « **Reply #1210 on:** 20 May 2020, 10:05:28 »

On my second play through, I only took contracts against Local Government or Directorate targets, so everybody loved me (though that meant I had to stay in the Frontier).

I took my time Before going to Weldry to launch the Restoration, putting in a good two years doing contracts on every independent system in the Frontier. Worlds with Former Star League presence, like Kimi, were selling Gauss Rifles even before I got access to the black markets. I also picked up COIL weapons and an ECM unit on a world rimward of Independence.

One interesting note about the COIL weapons - the maker brand is “Herakleion,” implying that they didn’t originate from the Dobrev, but were Blakist prototypes from Jardine/Herakleion, possibly being field tested in remote regions of the Frontier.

Colt Ward · « **Reply #1211 on:** 20 May 2020, 10:11:36 »

Not knowing all the Jihad stuff since I was not able to buy SBs at that time . . . what makes you say that? I was reading it, and seeing the Greek thinking Herotitus.

Fat Guy · « **Reply #1212 on:** 20 May 2020, 10:21:51 »

Though it may just be a coincidence, Comstar made Jardine disappear by renaming it Herakleion on the star charts.

Luciora · « **Reply #1213 on:** 20 May 2020, 10:24:44 »

I have to look at the stats, but the Coil weapons for some odd reason remind me very strongly of VSPs.

Mendrugo · « **Reply #1214 on:** 20 May 2020, 10:39:15 »

Quote from: Colt Ward on 20 May 2020, 10:11:36

Not knowing all the Jihad stuff since I was not able to buy SBs at that time . . . what makes you say that? I was reading it, and seeing the Greek thinking Herotitus.

Herakleion was one of ComStar’s five hidden emergency fallback worlds that ended up being used for weapons R&D.

Colt Ward · « **Reply #1215 on:** 20 May 2020, 10:42:48 »

I knew Jardine was one, but the shift to calling it something else was in 2SW time frame?

DarkSpade · « **Reply #1216 on:** 20 May 2020, 11:46:26 »

Quote from: Euphonium on 20 May 2020, 09:35:44

Once you have driven your reputation all the way down to -100 with a faction is there any way you can redeem it?
I happily min-maxed as many reputations as possible to boost my career-mode score but I'd now kind of like to be able to access the black market without the 1000% mark-up without having to start a new game.

Also, does anyone know how to identify black market worlds that are more likely to have specific tech, or if which allied faction stores are good for which types of tech?

I think grinding out half skull contracts are your only option short of Json editing.

Euphonium · « **Reply #1217 on:** 20 May 2020, 13:24:50 »

Quote from: DarkSpade on 20 May 2020, 11:46:26

I think grinding out half skull contracts are your only option short of Json editing.

I can live with that. It might even be fun to spend a couple of hours squishing light 'mechs with assaults before going back to serious challenges

Euphonium · « **Reply #1218 on:** 20 May 2020, 18:50:45 »

Sadly I didn't think to take a screenshot, but doing the Marik Alliance flashpoint I just put a gauss slug right through the cockpit of a DCMS Zeus piloted by a Chu-i Tetsuhara...

Sartris · « **Reply #1219 on:** 22 May 2020, 15:58:46 »

finally got around to installing the game after buying in 2018 on sale and playing the first mission. had to replay the second mission because something something heat blows up mechs even without ammo dekker's spider exploded and he died something something.

Daryk · « **Reply #1220 on:** 22 May 2020, 16:42:26 »

Dekker was my first casualty too...

Euphonium · « **Reply #1221 on:** 22 May 2020, 17:23:17 »

I think it was my fourth campaign before I managed to get to the end with Dekker still alive. When I did I found that HBS actually had "Dekker survives" as an achievement ;D

Daryk · « **Reply #1222 on:** 22 May 2020, 17:37:54 »

Being they put him in a Spider in their game, I'm not surprised at all...

DarkSpade · « **Reply #1223 on:** 22 May 2020, 18:11:46 »

I believe that achievement was patched in later as players began to notice how prone he was to dying even when given a better mech. He became the game's first meme.

Daryk · « **Reply #1224 on:** 22 May 2020, 18:13:25 »

I wouldn't doubt that, but I think the base statistics are skewed by how often he dies in that first mission...

DarkSpade · « **Reply #1225 on:** 22 May 2020, 18:24:55 »

I think there's another one you can get if all 4 of the starter pilots survive.

Euphonium · « **Reply #1226 on:** 22 May 2020, 19:25:09 »

Quote from: DarkSpade on 22 May 2020, 18:24:55

I think there's another one you can get if all 4 of the starter pilots survive.

If there is I'm going to have to have another try!

Caedis Animus · « **Reply #1227 on:** 22 May 2020, 20:32:34 »

Quote from: Daryk on 22 May 2020, 18:13:25

I wouldn't doubt that, but I think the base statistics are skewed by how often he dies in that first mission...

I still don't get how it's easy to have him, or anyone else, damaged enough to be near death in that mission. It's really not that hard, imo.

Like, I feel like you'd have to be downright suicidally aggressive.

Euphonium · « **Reply #1228 on:** 22 May 2020, 20:46:07 »

On one of my play throughs Dekker got headcapped by a panther's PPC on first turn of shooting on my second or third mission even though he'd jumped max distance. Sometimes RNG happens.

Sartris · « **Reply #1229 on:** 22 May 2020, 20:49:05 »

Quote from: Caedis Animus on 22 May 2020, 20:32:34

I still don't get how it's easy to have him, or anyone else, damaged enough to be near death in that mission. It's really not that hard, imo.

Like, I feel like you'd have to be downright suicidally aggressive.

yeah it was fine in the second runthrough once i understood how not to commit suicide via overheat