How often do you play Battleforce?

[ATN082268]

  How often do you play Battleforce? Add comments in this thread.

[Cybertec]

I average less than one time per month, but that is not due to lack of interest. it's a reality of my lack of time and availibility to hit the local games store.  Work, work work, all Zatharus has is work. :-)

I really wish there was something along the lines of Megamek for Battleforce, then I could get more games going...remotely.

[Darthvegeta800]

None but I ordered Strat Ops as i want to give it a try. It looks interesting and fastpaced.

Are there people here who swear by BF?

[Gunbuster]

I find it less satisfying than MechWarrior: AoD.

[nckestrel]

I find it less satisfying than MechWarrior: AoD.

BattleForce and Quick-Strike are not the same thing.  QS is usually compared to MW:AoD, BattleForce is for larger scale battles. 

[Kell]

I brought up the idea of playing battleforce to some of my friends here who are ho hum gamers. They both looked at me like I was insane because long ago we played battletech. I told them this is a new take on Battletech that is faster, easier, and you are able to have a company vs company game in 3 hours, compared to a lance vs lance and the damn thing would take 6-8 hours.

We played one game and they loved it. They just wished it had a more rpg feel ( hence my strike force rules.) Once they had the chance to level up pilots, get cool abilities that gave them a certain advantage, and the ability to purchase new mechs after successful campaigns, I was getting texts on when we were playing next. Sometimes we play twice a week, which is almost unheard of in the battletech community.

All in all as my cousin says (who got me into the whole battletech scene) "Battleforce brings Battletech back to being the beer and pretzels game that we had always wished it could be. Quick, fun, easy, and you can blow a bunch of stuff up in 2 hours!"


Strike Force Post
http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,1438.0.html

[Voodoo]

Your on to something here.  I never gave Battleforce a try because you could not level up pilots, units, etc.  I wonder if Catalyst is reading this?

[PurpleDragon]

I find that battleforce doesn't give me the detail I want for my games so I don't play it, as a whole.  I may, however, use it for the grand strategic, what's going on in the background, setting for my RPGs that I run.  It helps to create encounters and know exactly what the characters are in for when you use the movement rules for the strategic map, then the battletech rules for engagement resolution.  It takes a little work on the part of the gamemaster, but it's very satisfying if done right. 

[Khymerion]

Play it every other weekend, it is a decent vehicle to allowing our private group to run the larger scale engagement during a planetary invasion.   Then again, it allows us to easily integrate aerospace to a large strategic planetary map and then know exactly what forces are available to each side for our smaller b-tech scale engagements.  For us at least, battalion level combat rarely sees both sides throw entire whole hog in to an attack, the recon elements of both sides go at it on b-tech board with probing attacks.

It is one tool in our box that allows us to run theater wide fights (Because the idea of a company of mechs taking a planet is silly).

[IronSphinx]

How often? Not nearly enough. My players like BattleTech though I'm trying like made to corrupt them into playing QS and BF more regularly.  :)

[Ladob]

... this is a new take on Battletech that is faster, easier, and you are able to have a company vs company game in 3 hours, compared to a lance vs lance and the damn thing would take 6-8 hours.

...

All in all as my cousin says (who got me into the whole battletech scene) "Battleforce brings Battletech back to being the beer and pretzels game that we had always wished it could be. Quick, fun, easy, and you can blow a bunch of stuff up in 2 hours!"

That nails it. It is the why I managed to get new people into the game, people which didn't even know BT existed. We're having regular weekly sessions (as soon as my kids sleep :) ) and they are loving it. In fact, when I introduced normal BT, it was sort of a mixed response, half liked it, the other half thought it way to clobbered and over-complicated.

Interesting is the need for a little more depth: this group of mine, who are no roleplayers and such, indeed likes the extra elements I add there (that they are a unit, they use Warchest points to buy stuff, repair etc).

BattleForce rocks.

[mensa12345]

I really never used it.  I think that the lance set-up for most units makes their transition into battleforce problematic.  I have used it for a "macro" feel, and then resolved the battles using regular battletech scale.

[Medron Pryde]

That I think is where Quick-Strike is FAR better than BattleForce.  Individual units, not lances.  :)

[Jake Sweeper]

I haven't played Battleforce since BF2 was released over a decade ago.  I'd like to play it again sometime, no idea when that will be.

[MOrab46019]

I have been playing BT since the 80's. I got BF and BF2. Also Battle Space. What is Quick-Strike? Thank you for the answer.

[Maniac Actual]

How often? Not nearly enough. My players like BattleTech though I'm trying like made to corrupt them into playing QS and BF more regularly.  :)

I prefer BattleTech, Sphinx, b/c QS, at least, is broken.  Horribily broken.  I've said this at the games in EL, and I say it here:  You can't third weapons ranges w/o thirding movement rates.  Every time I've tried QS it leads to the "Light Mech gang rape" of heavy and assaults.  Also, I don't like it's all or nothing nature -  Either the Loki with a 1 gunnery skill hits with every weapon, or it doesn't (and gets gang raped by a hoard of Spiders)

Battleforce is marginally better.  You've seen me play that, but I still prefer Battletech.  I'd rahter take five sessions and fight that battalion sized engagement out at Battletech scale that get the wierd results a Battleforce battle represents.  Aerospace is too powerful in Battleforce (as compared to Battletech) and XL engine units are far superior.

Now, Battleforce is a fun game in and of itself, but... Battletech and BAttleforce don't translate well - they're are too many compromises made in going from one scale to anohter.

[nckestrel]

I prefer BattleTech, Sphinx, b/c QS, at least, is broken.  Horribily broken.  I've said this at the games in EL, and I say it here:  You can't third weapons ranges w/o thirding movement rates.  Every time I've tried QS it leads to the "Light Mech gang rape" of heavy and assaults.  Also, I don't like it's all or nothing nature -  Either the Loki with a 1 gunnery skill hits with every weapon, or it doesn't (and gets gang raped by a hoard of Spiders)

Battleforce is marginally better.  You've seen me play that, but I still prefer Battletech.  I'd rahter take five sessions and fight that battalion sized engagement out at Battletech scale that get the wierd results a Battleforce battle represents.  Aerospace is too powerful in Battleforce (as compared to Battletech) and XL engine units are far superior.

Now, Battleforce is a fun game in and of itself, but... Battletech and BAttleforce don't translate well - they're are too many compromises made in going from one scale to anohter.

QS doesn't third weapon ranges.  BF does, QS does not.

[Maniac Actual]

QS doesn't third weapon ranges.  BF does, QS does not.

Ummm.... since they use the same ranges, yeah, they do.

[nckestrel]

Ummm.... since they use the same ranges, yeah, they do.

SO p405.
Distance up to 6" Short.
distance up to 24" Medium.
Distance up to 42" Long.
Since the QS conversion for movement is 1 hex to 2", Short Range is the same as moving 3 hexes.  Medium is the same as moving 12 hexes. Long is the same as moving 21 hexes.  That is roughly the same as BattleTech, certainly not one-third weapon ranges.

[Kell]

Also something I have been doing with my group, has been using a 3 2D6 system. Say you Loki does 5 points of damage at Medium range and you are targeting those pesky Spiders. With a modifier of lets say +3, Skill of 4, and nothing in your way you are looking at a 9 to hit. Instead of rolling one set of dice for all 5 points of damage, You divide your damage according to my handy Damage Divider Table (Below) you would have 2 sets of dice rolling for 2 points of damage, and 1 set of dice rolling for the remaining 1 point of damage. It works great and finally solves the problem of your heavies going down within the first 3 rounds.

Damage Divider Table

 Points of damage -        1       2         3             4           5            6            7             8            9          10
Points per set of dice     1      1/1    1/1/1      1/1/2     2/2/1     2/2/2      2/2/3      3/3/2      3/3/3     3/3/4

[Crunch]

I average less than one time per month, but that is not due to lack of interest. it's a reality of my lack of time and availibility to hit the local games store.  Work, work work, all Zatharus has is work. :-)

I really wish there was something along the lines of Megamek for Battleforce, then I could get more games going...remotely.

This.

[Maniac Actual]

SO p405.
Distance up to 6" Short.
distance up to 24" Medium.
Distance up to 42" Long.
Since the QS conversion for movement is 1 hex to 2", Short Range is the same as moving 3 hexes.  Medium is the same as moving 12 hexes. Long is the same as moving 21 hexes.  That is roughly the same as BattleTech, certainly not one-third weapon ranges.

Sorry.  Mis spoke myself earlier.  1/3 ranges w/o  1/3rding movement.  It should not be possible for a light mech to cross gauss rifle range in two movements - and be in melee range at the end of the 2nd movement phase.  This is my experience with QS.  You can't even do that with an 8/12/8 Spider - but you can -and do - do so in QS.

[nckestrel]

Sorry.  Mis spoke myself earlier.  1/3 ranges w/o  1/3rding movement.  It should not be possible for a light mech to cross gauss rifle range in two movements - and be in melee range at the end of the 2nd movement phase.  This is my experience with QS.  You can't even do that with an 8/12/8 Spider - but you can -and do - do so in QS.

QS: 16" for spider movement.  42" for long range.  3 turns. 2 turns leaves it still 10" away.
BF: 8 hex for spider. 21 hex for gauss rifle.  3 turns.

[Maniac Actual]

QS: 16" for spider movement.  42" for long range.  3 turns. 2 turns leaves it still 10" away.
BF: 8 hex for spider. 21 hex for gauss rifle.  3 turns.

OK, this is the last post I'm gonna make on this, b/c it's not worth the argument.  I'm not arguing whether BF or QS is right.  The problem is comparing them BOTH to Battletech.  A Spider moves 8 - 12 - 8.  This means it takes 3 turns to cross gauss rfile range when jumping, so yeah, I'll grant that.  But the Spider is an extreme example - an 8 hex jumper and so can ignore terrain, and it also assumes that the target doesn't move.  In other words, it should take more than three turns to close.  Yet a ML is a medium range weapon in BF, so the spider doesn't need to close to point blank range to begin the Light Mech Gang Rape (TM)

Now - the real problem:  The spider does two points of damage.  The Thor takes like, what, 10 points to kill?  Four spiders can kill a Thor in a turn or so in BF, and especially QS.  There is no way in Hades they can do that in Btech.

Now, maybe I'm wrong about the anaylsis on ranges.  I'm not gonna argue that.  But you can't deny the Light Mech Gang Rape that is possible in QS / BF that will never, ever happen in B-tech. 

[nckestrel]

OK, this is the last post I'm gonna make on this, b/c it's not worth the argument.  I'm not arguing whether BF or QS is right.  The problem is comparing them BOTH to Battletech.  A Spider moves 8 - 12 - 8.  This means it takes 3 turns to cross gauss rfile range when jumping, so yeah, I'll grant that.  But the Spider is an extreme example - an 8 hex jumper and so can ignore terrain, and it also assumes that the target doesn't move.  In other words, it should take more than three turns to close.  Yet a ML is a medium range weapon in BF, so the spider doesn't need to close to point blank range to begin the Light Mech Gang Rape (TM)

Now - the real problem:  The spider does two points of damage.  The Thor takes like, what, 10 points to kill?  Four spiders can kill a Thor in a turn or so in BF, and especially QS.  There is no way in Hades they can do that in Btech.

Now, maybe I'm wrong about the anaylsis on ranges.  I'm not gonna argue that.  But you can't deny the Light Mech Gang Rape that is possible in QS / BF that will never, ever happen in B-tech.

. 
Considering Spiders are around 6-9 Points, and Thors are around 22, four Spiders should have a good chance against a lone Thor. 
The Thor is only one less to hit easier to hit than the Spiders, so they're not exactly tearing him up.  And Thors do 4-5 damage while Spiders can take 3-5. 
Fighting at medium range, a 4 skill Thor needs 10s.  The 4 skill Spiders need 9.   Thor needs 1-2 hits to kill a Spider.  Spiders need 5-10 hits to kill the Thor.   
I hardly thinks it's lopsided enough to merit.. a term I'd rather not use. 

As for how long it takes to kill a Thor, BF is three times as fast in sheer numbers (armor divided by 30, damage by 10). Perhaps that's what were thinking of?