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Off Topic / Re: Anyone else remember Hypernauts?
« Last post by MoneyLovinOgre4Hire on Today at 22:11:36 »You know, I don't think my local CBS station even broadcast Space Rangers. I certainly don't recall ever seeing it advertised.
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General BattleTech Discussion / Re: Battletech Heavy Metal
« Last post by MoneyLovinOgre4Hire on Today at 22:03:02 »I have to say that I've always kind of hated that hovertank, since it's name exists pretty much 100% for the pun with no in-universe logic for why anyone would choose that name.
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MechWarrior Hall / Re: Word Association 36: SAY WHAT AGAIN!!!
« Last post by Akamia on Today at 21:55:05 »Neo
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Off Topic / Re: Anyone else remember Hypernauts?
« Last post by SteelRaven on Today at 21:51:56 »During the 90s, i mostly watched things like Stargate, TNG/DS9/Voyager. not kids shows..
That might explain why i don't know it.
Space Rangers wasn't a kids show, it was just forgettable and now comically dated. Space Rangers premiered in 1993 on CBS, most likely overshadowed by both Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and later Babylon 5 that was shopped around the prior year. The production value was similar to that of SeaQeust DSV that premiered later that year on NBC to much more fan fair though now just as forgotten and as dated today.
I only bring it up because I thought it was hilarious that what little I saw of a kids show did some things better than a prime time network broadcast aimed at a more mature audience much earlier... then again, the 3 year difference in affordable CGI and practical effects probably helped.
Both Hypernauts and Star Rangers are forgotten for a reason, the only reason I remember those two artifacts was because I just absorbed almost anything Sci-fi as a kid in the 90's. I even remember Mann and Machine (92) ... which is terrible even for a kid with low standards ... honestly, it makes Almost Human (2013) look like ****** Blade Runner in comparison. Oh, and don't get me started on TekWars (94), that series aged like cream cheese, expiration: do open after February 19th, 1996.
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General BattleTech Discussion / Re: Battletech Heavy Metal
« Last post by Charistoph on Today at 21:33:25 »There are a few punny units out there not associated with bands, like the J. Edgar Hover tank.
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General BattleTech Discussion / Re: Mercenaries Kickstarter Discussion 6: the 1st 3rd Star League conversation
« Last post by Hydrofoil Goat on Today at 21:22:44 »So, I know this is going to sound dumb, but how do you pay the shipping once everything is said and done? I have a balance. I see that under Payment my card is on file, but there isn't any payment button or the like.
I believe that if you have card details entered, payment will be taken on the last day of shipping charges being payable.
Otherwise you can pay with paypal if you'd rather pay immediately.
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Challenges and Gatherings / Re: Battletech Long Island III
« Last post by shadhawk on Today at 21:17:47 »“GSF Command to Baja Air Patrol you are ordered to return to Baja for a new assignment.”
“Baja Air Patrol to GSF Command RTB for new assignment. Roger.”
“So what do you thing the brass wants us to watch now?”
“I don’t know but anything has to be better than this.”
As the two Warrior Attack Helicopters return they are instructed to land next to the Lion Class DropShip so they can be loaded aboard.
The Phoenix Roost will land just outside of the security perimeter of plant one.
“Welcome to plant one.” The head of security for the site welcomes the VTOL crews.
“So just why are we here? Last reports had all the bad guys running away.”
“That is true but with all the heavy units from the GSF RTB we asked for some extra help until the Militia can get us a platoon.”
“Oh so we get to do security flights here.”
“Gee more round and round we go.”
“I will offer that you will get time off in Yousai while you are here.”
“Now that does not sound bad.”
“Baja Air Patrol to GSF Command RTB for new assignment. Roger.”
“So what do you thing the brass wants us to watch now?”
“I don’t know but anything has to be better than this.”
As the two Warrior Attack Helicopters return they are instructed to land next to the Lion Class DropShip so they can be loaded aboard.
The Phoenix Roost will land just outside of the security perimeter of plant one.
“Welcome to plant one.” The head of security for the site welcomes the VTOL crews.
“So just why are we here? Last reports had all the bad guys running away.”
“That is true but with all the heavy units from the GSF RTB we asked for some extra help until the Militia can get us a platoon.”
“Oh so we get to do security flights here.”
“Gee more round and round we go.”
“I will offer that you will get time off in Yousai while you are here.”
“Now that does not sound bad.”
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Ground Combat / Issues with Random Unit Determination for Scenarios?
« Last post by theagent on Today at 21:17:14 »Not sure if this is the correct section or not, but here goes.
So, I'm a big numbers guy. I love math, I love Excel, & I love using the random tables to do rough estimates of the compositions of the various Clans, Houses, & other factions in the BattleTech universe. Part & parcel with that is that, in the various Field Manuals, they talk about using the Random Weight-Class Tables if you're going to use a canon unit from a particular faction, & I've been trying to integrate the Regimental Composition tables from Campaign Operations into that mix. FM:DC & FM:FWL actually had slightly different tables than BMR (which was the standard when the Field Manuals came out). For the most part, the Total Warfare equivalents (pp. 264-6 in 6th Edition) do a good job of updating those tables from the BMR versions...except when it breaks down. And it actually fairly quickly breaks down.
I'll leave the Clans to the side for now, because their breakdown actually goes back to BMR. For IS & Com Guards/Blake Militia forces, the BMR tables worked just fine: first determine if the Lance/Company is a BattleMech or "conventional" unit, either by deliberately picking it or rolling 1D6 (2:1 ratio of conventional to 'Mech) -- although if using the random roll, you have to decide if "conventional" means Combat Vehicles or infantry (including BA) -- and then either determining the weight class of the Lance or the composition of the lances in a Company (former using 2D6, latter using 1D6). The weight distribution for random Lances is fairly straightforward, with 36 possible outcomes:
That distribution is fairly straightforward, & reflects the typical realities of the situation. Assaults are expensive & slow, so they're not going to be as common; Lights are best used in recon/scout roles, so won't be the main part of the battle line; Heavies form the backbone of the main thrust; & Mediums are the jack-of-all-trade "Troopers" that make up the biggest chunk of your forces.
But when you get to TW, it...goes a bit off the rails. I like the expansion of the unit type, if you want to actually break it down randomly (still using 1D6), with 6 possible Lance results:
In fact, that gives you a very nice force: an Armor Company supported by a 'Mech Lance (or vice-versa), with a Platoon of Infantry (or BA Squad/Platoon) to provide rear-area security or scouting & a Lance of 2 ASFs for air support.
But then you get to the weight class portion...which, if you've already decided "My Lance will be a BattleMech Lance", you're skipping ahead to anyway. Again, same 2D6 roll, so you still have 36 results...but while they're similar, they're not identical:
Although the proportion of Heavy units is unchanged, & the proportions for Light & Assault are fairly close, roughly 25% of the Mediums are now replaced by non-'Mech (or armor) units, even though at this stage they shouldn't even be in the equation.
It gets worse if you consider that, if you combined the Unit Type and Random Lance Type chances, then you could build a respectable force that would normally resemble an RCT, based on 216 Lances/Platoons:
Instead...because the Battle Armor & ASF show up in the weight classification table, you get the following distribution:
Now, I know...if you're using the Random Weight table & don't want the non-armor/'Mech results, you could just adapt the table. However, there are 2 issues with that.
So...my recommendation is pretty simple:
As for the Clans...well, even the BMR table has problems, but I'll review the changes as well:
For Clans, I would suggest a 3-tier approach to solve this:
So, I'm a big numbers guy. I love math, I love Excel, & I love using the random tables to do rough estimates of the compositions of the various Clans, Houses, & other factions in the BattleTech universe. Part & parcel with that is that, in the various Field Manuals, they talk about using the Random Weight-Class Tables if you're going to use a canon unit from a particular faction, & I've been trying to integrate the Regimental Composition tables from Campaign Operations into that mix. FM:DC & FM:FWL actually had slightly different tables than BMR (which was the standard when the Field Manuals came out). For the most part, the Total Warfare equivalents (pp. 264-6 in 6th Edition) do a good job of updating those tables from the BMR versions...except when it breaks down. And it actually fairly quickly breaks down.
I'll leave the Clans to the side for now, because their breakdown actually goes back to BMR. For IS & Com Guards/Blake Militia forces, the BMR tables worked just fine: first determine if the Lance/Company is a BattleMech or "conventional" unit, either by deliberately picking it or rolling 1D6 (2:1 ratio of conventional to 'Mech) -- although if using the random roll, you have to decide if "conventional" means Combat Vehicles or infantry (including BA) -- and then either determining the weight class of the Lance or the composition of the lances in a Company (former using 2D6, latter using 1D6). The weight distribution for random Lances is fairly straightforward, with 36 possible outcomes:
- 6 Light Lances
- 15 Medium Lances
- 9 Heavy Lances
- 6 Assault Lances
That distribution is fairly straightforward, & reflects the typical realities of the situation. Assaults are expensive & slow, so they're not going to be as common; Lights are best used in recon/scout roles, so won't be the main part of the battle line; Heavies form the backbone of the main thrust; & Mediums are the jack-of-all-trade "Troopers" that make up the biggest chunk of your forces.
But when you get to TW, it...goes a bit off the rails. I like the expansion of the unit type, if you want to actually break it down randomly (still using 1D6), with 6 possible Lance results:
- 3 will be Combat Vehicles
- 1 will be BattleMech
- 1 will be Infantry (conventional or BA)
- 1 will be ASF
In fact, that gives you a very nice force: an Armor Company supported by a 'Mech Lance (or vice-versa), with a Platoon of Infantry (or BA Squad/Platoon) to provide rear-area security or scouting & a Lance of 2 ASFs for air support.
But then you get to the weight class portion...which, if you've already decided "My Lance will be a BattleMech Lance", you're skipping ahead to anyway. Again, same 2D6 roll, so you still have 36 results...but while they're similar, they're not identical:
- 11 Medium
- 9 Heavy
- 7 Light
- 5 Assault
- 3 Battle Armor
- 1 ASF
Although the proportion of Heavy units is unchanged, & the proportions for Light & Assault are fairly close, roughly 25% of the Mediums are now replaced by non-'Mech (or armor) units, even though at this stage they shouldn't even be in the equation.
It gets worse if you consider that, if you combined the Unit Type and Random Lance Type chances, then you could build a respectable force that would normally resemble an RCT, based on 216 Lances/Platoons:
- Reinforced BattleMech Regiment (36 Lances = 12 Companies = 4 Battalions)
- 3 Reinforced Armor Regiments, or 4 Armor Regiments (108 Lances = 36 Companies = 12 Battalions)
- Reinforced Aerospace Regiment (36 Lances = 12 Squadrons = 4 Wings)
- Reinforced Infantry Regiment (36 Platoons = 12 Companies = 4 Battalions), with the possibility of swapping out 1 of those Battalions for a Battle Armor Battalion
Instead...because the Battle Armor & ASF show up in the weight classification table, you get the following distribution:
- "Regiment" of BattleMechs (32 Lances organized into 3 Battalions with Command Lances & a Regiment Command Lance, but you have a spare Lance)
- 3 "Regiments" of Armor (128 Lances organized into 9 Battalions with Command Lances, but instead of full Command Companies for each Regiment you only get 2 Command Lances)
- Reinforced Aerospace Regiment (40 Lances, organized into 4 Wings with Command Lances)...but you're missing a Command Lance for the Regiment, so more likely to get 4 "independent" Wings
- Reinforced Infantry Regiment (36 Platoons = 12 Companies = 4 Battalions)...However, while you could still maybe pull out 1 Battalion as Battle Armor, you already also have:
- Reinforced Battalion of Battle Armor (12 Platoons = 4 Companies, although none of them will have any command squads/platoons)
Now, I know...if you're using the Random Weight table & don't want the non-armor/'Mech results, you could just adapt the table. However, there are 2 issues with that.
- It drastically throws off the weight distribution. While treating the ASF result as an Assault Lance just restores the old BMR-type option, treating a BA result as additional Light Lances increases the allocation from 7/36 to 10/36...nearly as many Light Lances as you have Medium Lances. That essentially means you'd be either adding a higher level of recon/scout assets (great if you're only engaged in scout ops, bad if you're expecting to go toe-to-toe in a pitched battle), or expecting your light units to function as Battle Lances on the battlefield (not exactly a great situation).
- It makes it nearly impossible to integrate the weight allocation tables from FM:DC and FM:FWL into the mix, or even adjust them to more closely match the TW tables. The DCMS emphasized Light Lances, but saw the biggest drops in their Heavy & Assault Lances (15/36 Light, 11/36 Medium, 7/36 Heavy, 3/36 Assault). THe FWLM kept the same number of Lights (6/36), but drastically upped their Medium Lances (24/36) while cutting Heavies (5/36) & Assaults (1/36). Note that for the FWLM, a 12 on the 2D6 roll was the only way to get an Assault Lance...& the TW table allocates that to an ASF Lance
- From a game session perspective, if you've already made the decision about whether any non-'Mech units are going to be involved (especially given the release of the BattleTech Manual), allowing non-'Mech units onto the playing field against a 'Mech force could make the session more complex...particularly if, say, your "session" ends up randomly becoming a Platoon of Battle Armor suits against 2 ASFs.
So...my recommendation is pretty simple:
- Keep the Unit Type table used in Total Warfare, but:
- Replace the Random Lance Type Weight Class Table with the old Random Weight Class Table.
As for the Clans...well, even the BMR table has problems, but I'll review the changes as well:
- While I'm fine with the chances for a Nova, the TW table makes some fundamental changes to weight allocation:
- BMR Spread: 32 out of 35 Stars are 'Mech (12 Light, 11 Medium, 7 Heavy, 2 Assault), plus 2 ProtoMech Stars & 1 Elemental Star; 1 additional Star will be a Nova
- TW Spread: 31 out of 35 Stars are 'Mech (7 Light, 11 Medium, 9 Heavy, 3 Assault), plus 2 ProtoMech Stars, 1 Elemental Star, and 2 ASF Stars; 1 additional Star will be a Nova
- Although both the BMR and TW table for the Nova result (12 on 2D6) properly have you exclude another Nova result or an Elemental result on the follow-up roll, neither table excludes the other invalid Nova options. With both tables, if you roll a 3, your "Nova" consists of a Star of Elementals & a Star of...ProtoMechs... that cannot carry the Elementals into battle (& that's the whole point, as the descriptions for the tables even say don't bother with Novas if you're doing a 2nd-line unit because you need OmniMechs -- or OmniVehicles -- to carry the Elementals). Worse, with the TW table, a roll of 11 is considered a "valid" Nova...even though it would consist of a Star of Elementals & a Star of...ASFs. Whether they're OmniFighters or not, they're not going to fly into battle with the Elementals holding on for dear life. I'm not sure having the "Nova" option in the Weight Classification table is the best way to go.
- Although both books assume that any Clan force is going to be a front-line unit, we all know from both the FM:Crusaders and FM:Warden, as well as the various novels & other sourcebooks for the official setting, that all too often Clan 2nd-line forces find themselves facing off against enemy forces (whether IS or other Clans).
For Clans, I would suggest a 3-tier approach to solve this:
- Adopt a "Unit Type" table approach. Roll 1D6: 1-4 = Front-line unit, 5-6 = 2nd-line unit.
- Bring back the Weight-class Table from BMR, but instead of a 12 being a Nova, it's an ASF Star. Front-line units (except for Clan Hell's Horses) are always 'Mech Stars, but 2nd-line units are 50/50 'Mech & armor (CHH is "special", in that they integrate armor into their front-line units); whether you roll a dice or just pick is up to the GM (although I'd recommend rolling 1D6 for CHH units: 1-3 = 'Mech, 4-6 = Armor).
- Determination of Nova/non-Nova status is a separate roll. If it's a front-line 'Mech unit (i.e. rolled 1-4 on the 1D6 roll, and 4-11 on the 2D6 roll), then you roll another 2D6: if you roll 12, the 'Mech Star is a Nova, & you add an Elemental Star to it. You could also have the option of a "poor-man's Nova" for the 2nd-line units, where on a 12 result on 2D6 for a 2nd-line 'Mech means a Star of solahma infantry is paired up with it (or possibly Elementals if using 2nd-line 'Mechs); note that this is what CHH does with all of its armor units (whether front- or 2nd-line). Also, instead of getting a Nova with a 12 on the 2D6 roll, CHH forces get a Nova with a roll of 10+ on 2D6 for 'Mech Stars (FM:Crusaders fluff says that 2/3 of their 'Mech units are Stars, but the Unit Generation rules in the back just say treat the 6 and 12 results from the BMR table as a Nova).
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General BattleTech Discussion / Re: Mercenaries Kickstarter Discussion 6: the 1st 3rd Star League conversation
« Last post by SANSd20 on Today at 21:09:38 »So, I know this is going to sound dumb, but how do you pay the shipping once everything is said and done? I have a balance. I see that under Payment my card is on file, but there isn't any payment button or the like.
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Off Topic / Re: NFL 2024-2025 Your team hoping for a Swift return to dominance
« Last post by Scotty on Today at 21:05:58 »Zach Wilson briefly looked like the second coming of John Elway for exactly one quarter against the Chiefs and I did not like it.
