Author Topic: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign  (Read 27668 times)

csimian

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #90 on: 23 December 2018, 20:38:33 »
Last we heard is it will most likely be on January 12th. No confirmation or scenario description yet.

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #91 on: 23 December 2018, 21:18:51 »
The next game is theoretically Jan 12, but I haven't posted anything because I haven't gotten a proper confirmation from the store.
As for scenario I'm working on something scout based, if I can make it make sense as a symmetrical scenario.

Hellraiser

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #92 on: 24 December 2018, 14:44:25 »
We could treat it the way I "thought" game 1 was going to go back in 2016.

You have to Recon a building while at the same time trying to stop the enemy from doing the same.

Similar to the Capture Data scenario from November but with BAPs & Visual Scans.

Allow urban maps again, & put a bunch of buildings around the middle.

Maybe even pull out the 4 maps option I mentioned if we don't get a turn out of 9+ just to spread things out a bit more.

That scenario was the whole reason I purchased the Rifleman-II as part of my initial force.

LBX + BAP seemed like a good combo for that scenario when I thought we had to both Recon & Protect.


« Last Edit: 24 December 2018, 14:51:07 by Hellraiser »
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #93 on: 24 December 2018, 15:06:21 »
That's about what I was thinking. Thanks for reminding me about the urban option - things are easier, fluff-wise, if it's a city.
I wonder how many of the "buildings included" city maps I have...

Hellraiser

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #94 on: 24 December 2018, 15:22:43 »
I might be able to find my Citytech cardboard counters if we need them & I also have some foam inserts 1 hex wide that can be plopped down for buildings if needed on the blank maps.

3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #95 on: 24 December 2018, 15:27:13 »
I've got buildings, I just wanted to avoid the time & hassle of "assembling" maps. Maybe I'll tear my office apart looking for my copy of Heavy Metal Map.

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #96 on: 27 December 2018, 11:38:47 »
The next game is theoretically Jan 12, but I haven't posted anything because I haven't gotten a proper confirmation from the store.

Confirmed. I'll get the scenario details out once I've recovered from holiday travel.

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #97 on: 01 January 2019, 23:18:13 »
Scenario: Spy vs Spy

Location: Game Depot, January 12 @ 1pm

Scenario Basics:
BV limit: 7100 BV for 4 units (other unit counts have different amounts -- see rules link)
Carried Infantry: Count for BV, but do not count against the unit count until they exceed the number of non-infantry units.
Victory Condition 0 - Start the battle (200 SP) This is forfeited if you surrender or flee the field before 4 rounds have elapsed.
Victory Condition 1 - Find one enemy cache (100 SP) This can be scored up to four times.
Victory Condition 2 - Keep a cache hidden (100 SP) This can be scored up to four times.
Caches: Each player will get twelve markers. Four will be caches; the remainder are dummy markers that score no points. They must all be placed in building hexes at the start of the game (after map placement, but before round 1).
Scanning: A marker can be scanned in the following ways.

    Entering a hex reveals any marker in that hex.
    At the end of a non-infantry unit's movement, one adjacent marker is revealed.
    A unit can forgo its weapons fire to reveal up to three adjacent markers.
    Active probes (Beagle, etc.) work as rules 2 & 3, above, but within their range instead of just adjacent hexes. (Unless blocked by ECM.)

Maps: The following maps are the only maps allowed.

    City (any with buildings -- not the old Citytech maps)
    Drop Port 1 & 2
    Military Base 1 & 2
    Seaport 1 & 2
    WWE 2018 #4

Not interested in a campaign but want to get a game in? I'll be bringing a few forces you can borrow, or you can make a new force each time just for that battle without worrying about the bookkeeping of a campaign.
« Last Edit: 03 January 2019, 11:53:32 by Joel47 »

Hellraiser

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #98 on: 02 January 2019, 01:28:52 »
I don't know what the WWE one looks like, now I'm curious.

I have some of the others & will bring a couple/few to add to the choices.

3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

csimian

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #99 on: 02 January 2019, 06:11:09 »
When you say "enter a hex", do you mean enter the building or literally just enter the hex to reveal the marker in that hex?

Also, what happens if a building is destroyed?
« Last Edit: 02 January 2019, 09:38:36 by csimian »

Kartr_Kana

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #100 on: 02 January 2019, 09:47:02 »
BA Active Probe and Improved Sensors count as Active Probes? (Assuming the former does since its on the name)

Piggybacking on csimian's question, can a VTOL with Active Probe just blast through the area scanning and score the objectives?

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #101 on: 02 January 2019, 09:58:46 »
I don't know what the WWE one looks like, now I'm curious.
Now that the Worldwide Event is over, the maps are a free download: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/252030/BattleTech-MapPack-WWE2018-Terrain-Set

Quote
I have some of the others & will bring a couple/few to add to the choices.
Cool, thanks -- I only have singles for some of them.

When you say "enter a hex", do you mean enter the building or literally just enter the hex to reveal the marker in that hex?
Enter the building. If the caches could be discovered by someone flying overhead the aerospace jockeys wouldn't need you groundpounders.

Quote
Also, what happens if a building is destroyed?
Hadn't thought about it. How does this sound?
  • Non-cache building hex: Building is destroyed as normal.
  • Cache building hex: The cache is not revealed. Neither team scores it, either as "discovered" or "undiscovered."
BA Active Probe and Improved Sensors count as Active Probes? (Assuming the former does since its on the name)
The BA "Light Probe" counts, with a range of 3 (its normal range). Improved Sensors count as well, with a range of 2.

Quote
Piggybacking on csimian's question, can a VTOL with Active Probe just blast through the area scanning and score the objectives?
The above answer should cover it. It can scan one hex per turn.

csimian

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #102 on: 02 January 2019, 11:56:52 »
A unit can forgo its weapons fire to reveal all adjacent markers.
    Active probes (Beagle, etc.) work as rules 2 & 3, above, but within their range instead of just adjacent hexes. (Unless blocked by ECM.)

This makes it sound like a probe can reveal all markers in its radius. Is that correct (assuming no ECM interferes)?

Is scanning optional if you enter the building?

What will the building CFs and levels be?

When placing markers, are you limited to placing them on your own map?
« Last Edit: 02 January 2019, 22:57:56 by csimian »

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #103 on: 03 January 2019, 11:55:13 »
A unit can forgo its weapons fire to reveal all adjacent markers.
    Active probes (Beagle, etc.) work as rules 2 & 3, above, but within their range instead of just adjacent hexes. (Unless blocked by ECM.)

This makes it sound like a probe can reveal all markers in its radius. Is that correct (assuming no ECM interferes)?
Yes, but I didn't think far enough ahead when I wrote that. I just edited it to be "max 3".

Quote
Is scanning optional if you enter the building?
I guess. Why wouldn't you want to?

Quote
What will the building CFs and levels be?
All the listed maps have the buildings on them already, so "as shown on map."

Quote
When placing markers, are you limited to placing them on your own map?
No.
[/quote]

Kartr_Kana

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #104 on: 03 January 2019, 14:09:11 »
RIP unjammable Bloodhound Probe scanning everything within a 17 hex circle  :(  :violin:

Hellraiser

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #105 on: 04 January 2019, 21:51:08 »
The BA "Light Probe" counts, with a range of 3 (its normal range). Improved Sensors count as well, with a range of 2.
The above answer should cover it. It can scan one hex per turn.

Point of order.

BA Probe & Light Probe are not the same thing & have different ranges.

BA Probe is full range Beagle that the GDL Scout Suit Carries & is 4 Hexes per the TW Rule Book & Previous Rule Books.

Light Probe is the Clan Protomech 1/2 size model & it has a Radius of 3 hexes.
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Hellraiser

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #106 on: 04 January 2019, 21:57:19 »
So to clarify ranges.

Infantry = Same Hex (Radius-0)  (Inside Building)
Vehicle/Mech Regular Sensors = Radius-1
Improved Sensors (BA) = Rad-2
Clan Light Probe = Rad-3
Beagle Probe (BA Probe) = Rad-4
Clan Probe = Rad-5
BloodHound Probe = Rad-8

3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Hellraiser

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #107 on: 05 January 2019, 00:45:04 »
Yes, but I didn't think far enough ahead when I wrote that. I just edited it to be "max 3".

Actually you wrote "Adjacent-3" which IMHO kind of defeats the purpose of the probes.

As it is, you'd have to be crazy to have all your markers right next to each other.

Why is it not able to sense the entire radius? 
Its not like ECM has a limit on how much it blankets & with ECM overriding BAP its entirely possible to shut them down completely.

I think the Probes should get every chance they can to actually pull off a multi-marker check on both sides of the unit.
I say go with the first wording as it was written.
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #108 on: 05 January 2019, 00:49:48 »
Probes reveal up to 3 non-ECM'd caches within their radius. It's not going to be "everything in radius" because the higher-end probes could scan everything on a  mapsheet just by not shooting. That ends the game in 2-3 turns. I'd rather not make ECM a "must-take."

csimian

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #109 on: 05 January 2019, 08:03:14 »
So just to clarify, ECM only blocks probes from scanning markers. ECM will not stop a unit from scanning a hex they enter or are adjacent to. Correct?

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #110 on: 05 January 2019, 10:04:22 »
Correct.

Hellraiser

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #111 on: 13 January 2019, 13:56:55 »
Thanks again GM-Joel for the fun game as usual!  :thumbsup:



We had 7 players turn out with Joel filling in the 8th slot for 4 games going on. 

Each on a 2x1 map set up of urban terrain.


NW Table = Gonlar's Crusaders  v/s  Merry John's Little Men
SW Table = Team JJ  v/s  Non Campaign Player
NE Table = The League of Indiscriminate Justice  v/s  Polish Brigade
SE Table = Lóng zài wù zhōng  v/s  GM-Joel


As GM-Joel said, the blood gods were appeased today.

I think the Little Men did some major damage to the Crusaders & took the map.
Team JJ was the longest game but ended up keeping 2 buildings hidden while claiming the map as the NPC player retreated with only a Legionnaire left alive.
I'm not sure how the Cappie Mercs & GM-Joel finished up.
The League v/s Brigade break down is below.



Quick summary of the NE Table battle.

Maps were Sea Port with water facing West, the Brigade's home edge, & Military Base w/ wall to the East, at the League home edge.


Polish Brigade Forces:  3 Mechs, 1 Hover, 2 BA
Thunder-Custom Yankee  (3/4)
Komodo-2  (3/5)
Phoenix Hawk-3PL  (3/5)
Maxim-II  (4/5)
Inner Sphere Std BA (LRR)  *4  (4/5)
Golem Support BA *4  (4/5)


The League of Indiscriminate Justice Forces:  2 Mechs, 3 Vees, 3 BA
Menshen-O-J (Custom Pods - JJs)  (4/5)
BlackHawk-KU-OG  (4/5)
Ontos-Fusion (Custom C3M/MML)  (4/5)
Crow-Dragonfly  (4/5)
Beagle-Tag  (4/5)
Marauder BA  *4  (3/5)
GD Standard-LRR  *4  (4/5)
GD Scout  *4  (4/5)


The Polish Brigade has a very nasty TO&E with lots of Skilled pilots, TC's, Pulse/Precision & this force was typical of it.
The League force had less skills or accuracy to make room for lots of electronics that the mission called for.

Turn-1  Enter the map - No fire.   Maxim drops of Golems around a rear batch of buildings.

Turn-2  Get closer -  Crow makes a very deep end run behind the Golems & scans 3 rear buildings to find 1 cache.  I think the Pixie might have tried a LPL shot at it but missed.

Turn-3  Things get interesting as real fire commences.
  Phoenix Hawk jumps onto a heavy building & exchanges fire with the KU who misses most of the return fire.  KU also uses the Bloodhound to scan 1 building, gets lucky & finds a cache.
  Beagle makes an end run past the Kimodo & Pixie to drop off BA & scan a building while targeting the Golems w/ TAG.   (Another Lucky Guess for a cache)
  The Golems & Maxim open up on the Beagle & score multiple motive hits leaving it Immobile deep in enemy territory.  The crew shuts down & surrenders in the end phase.
  Crow moves over to a middle trio of buildings & scans 3 to find the 4th cache. 
  Menshen moves up & the Thunder rounds the corner to exchange fire taking an AC20 to the leg & some ERM/MPLs.  Ouch.
  MenShen TAGs the Thunder in return & opens up with 8 Medium Lasers while the Ontos rains down 45 LRMs.  Lots of small fire scattered over the Thunder.

Turn-4  Phoenix Hawk takes cover in trees near the Kimodo while the Marauders move in to the same trees.  Maxim moves up & drops off ISBA near the Marauders. 
  KU moves down the street to face the Phoenix Hawk at Point blank range, only to have the Kimodo walk through 2 light buildings to join the Pixie facing the KU  (Ouch, this is gonna hurt)
  All that fire left the KU with holes & 1 DHS crit while the Maxim is immobilized with Crew bailing out.  Pixie took a Kick from the KU after it shot at the Kimodo in the building.  KU misses PSR & burns edge to reroll to avoid falling over while surrounded by a full platoon of Mechs & BA.
  The Thunder hit reverse & backed up down the street.  Menshen jumped behind to block exit while Ontos continued to Indirect fire because of all the buildings.  No TAGs locked so most of the LRMs missed from Crow spotting against the Thunder.  The Menshen went 1/7 with ML's but it reduced the CT-R armor which will mean something next turn.  AC20 missed the Menshen.

Turn-5:  The KU jumps over a building to try to escape the BA while the Kim pursues & Pixie takes up position to hit the KU & cover Menshen movement options
  The Thunder heads forward again to try & get fire on the KU as well but can't quite clear the buildings.
  The MenShen jumps to the top of a building to fire on Kimodo rear & penetrates both Side torsos going 4/8 on MLs.
  Thunder misses the Menshen w/ AC20 again but fire from MPL & Pixie sheers off the Menshen RA completely on a crit 12.
  Golems wound the Marauder BA while Marauders fire on the ISBA but can't finish any of them off.  ISBA flamer the Marauders & cause building hex to collapse finishing of 1 BA Trooper.
  Kimodo hammers the KU again killing 2 BA that were still riding it while the KU goes 0/4 on the Kimodo.
  The Ontos brings down 45 LRMs on the Thunder for the 3rd round in a row & breaches the rear torso.  Another Crit-12 roll this turn doing 2 Engines & a Gyro.
  The Thunder falls over on its Rear & does a 3rd engine crit destroying the mech.

At this point the Brigade calls the game w/o penalty as its after Turn-4 & 1 side had achieved both VC's.


The Death Toll was impressive for a game w/o any "Truly" Dead units.   As Joel said, "the blood gods are pleased"  >:D

Polish Brigade is out 3 units for a total of 6 games.
Thunder - 3 Games  (Destroyed Engine)
Maxim - 2 Games  (Immobile & Abandoned)
Kimodo - 1 Game  (DHS Crit)  (I think this is the 3rd unit anyway)

League damage was even more impressive loosing 5 units for a total of 8 games.
MenShen - 2 Games  (5+ Crits)
Beagle - 2 Games  (Immobile & Abandoned)
GD Scouts - 2 Games  (2 BA destroyed)
Black Hawk KU - 1 Game  (1 DHS Crit)
Marauder BA - 1 Game  (1 BA destroyed)


In hindsight these maps have FAR less open area that we first thought, as you look closer at them you start to see that the buildings have no paths moving through them & this made for a very cramped playing area.  This lead to brutal close range exchanges & everyone but the Crow moving slower for fear of skidding into buildings.

The League came prepared for Recon & got very lucky in guesses on buildings early.
The Brigade was doing far more damage till the final round when LRM clusters tore open the rear torso of the Thunder killing it by engine crits.

Had the game kept going I feel like we would have been down to Phoenix Hawk v/s Ontos/Crow in a couple more rounds.
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #112 on: 14 January 2019, 09:30:00 »
Glad you enjoyed it.

Next game is Feb 9; scenario coming soon.

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #113 on: 20 January 2019, 11:32:53 »
I've received a number of (mild) complaints lately, notable in that people all have different ideas of what this campaign should be. There's a spectrum of roleplayer <--> wargamer, and as designed this campaign caters toward the latter (unless you don't care if you lose). So I'm scrapping it and starting over once I figure something out. I'm leaning toward redefining "campaign" as "a series of linked scenarios in a set era," with each campaign lasting 5-6 games (resetting for the next). I can't have huge amounts of refitting and pilot improvement and still support casual players -- and it's my job as a demo agent to bring new people into the game.

Since the Beginners box set should be out in a few days, the next game will have one table doing some 3025 scenarios, and the other table... well, I'd like to set up a big Alpha Strike game on my new airfield map; any takers?

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #114 on: 20 January 2019, 12:51:12 »
I am interested in reading whatever linked escenarios you are thinking about to steal ideas for my own games. :) Bed together luck with the new series of games!

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #115 on: 23 February 2019, 15:10:26 »
Continuing as-is is definitely out. The current version is too unfriendly to new and casual players. It was not my intent to create a tournament-level game, but that's what I did. It's mainly the fault of me trying to shoehorn in all the various eras and tech. I think the basic structure works, but advanced/experimental tech (even stuff that's "standard" in 3150) increases the complexity of force design (the "rock/paper/scissors" effect) beyond the ability of a new or casual player. Additionally, with no unit cap players who have earned a lot of SP aren't encumbered in the slightest by different missions, but a newer player would find them very difficult (e.g., scouting -- someone who can buy a stack of Angel-equipped units has a huge advantage over someone who cannot, and the game is over before it's begun).

The whole thing is complicated by the small player-base -- this isn't 40K or WarmaHordes, and I really can't afford to alienate people. The end product needs to be easy enough for anyone to join (e.g., GM-provided forces should be viable), the options need to be reduced (lots of Advanced/Experimental stuff removed), and there needs to be a drawback to specialization.

My current pondering runs something like this:
- Total reset. If nothing else, that kicks any imbalance issues down the road a ways.
- Unit cap of "one Union", which is nominally 12 mechs + 2 fighter bays. Mechanically, call it 12 bays that hold anything, 2 vehicle bays, sub-20-ton units take half a bay, and up to four non-mechanized infantry platoons for free. This keeps "stable" sizes under control, and makes specialized units less useful.
- Set the timeframe as "immediately post-Jihad." That gives the widest unit availability without getting into advanced/experimental complexities and imbalances. If you want to do a Dark Age/RotS unit that's fine, but advanced/experimental tech doesn't work. (Maybe come up with a short list of "harmless" advanced/experimental tech.)
- (Maybe) Lose the ECCM advanced rule. If I wanted to play "EW Officer" I'd play Harpoon. I realize that kind of shafts C3 forces, but I'm OK with that.
- Separate pilot improvement from support points by going (back) to some sort of XP system. Maybe allow the hiring of up to 3/4 to offset this.
- Allow clan and hybrid tech, but make purchase and modifications much more expensive as well as increasing repair time. Putting Clan weapons on all your IS units shouldn't be an automatic choice.
- Decrease the cost of replacing a destroyed unit. Easy with stock units; harder to compute/justify with heavily-customized ones.
- Re-work infantry healing. You should be able to replace a small percentage without any down-time, but a totally-destroyed unit should take longer, or have to be replaced.

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #116 on: 23 February 2019, 17:44:14 »
The overall problem I'm dealing with is differing expectations. Scenarios are easy if I also control force design, but then it's just scenarios, not a campaign. Lots of choice sounds good, until you realize that some players are so much better at choosing than others that it's not a game, just a slaughter. Proposing a "gentleman's agreement" to keep forces "sane" is too open to interpretation, so the way to go is to shrink choice back down again.

Another issue I have to work around is attendance. With a less formal campaign, you play when everyone can get together; having to, instead, deal with whomever shows up limits the "sequential battles" aspect. I can't do anything about that, though, so it's something to work around. (Family & work trump gaming. Always.)

Then there's the issue of game structure. The current (ex-current?) method is more like tournament play. I think I can fix some things by specifying map choice; while that raises the issue map map count (there are very few map arrangements where I can guarantee, by way of owning, enough maps for everyone), if I specify the map as "This, or something similar" I can get away with it. So that removes one way in which a battle is lost before initiative is rolled; another is force design. The previous post has some ways to help that. What I'd really like to do is chained scenarios so that you have to have a balanced force -- many mission-based scenarios break down if a player can craft the perfect force, but if the same force has to fight multiple battles... Of course then you have the problems of being stuck with a poorly-designed force (i.e., a longer cycle before you can fix mistakes) and dealing with damaged/destroyed units, as well as the aforementioned varying attendance.

Unfortunately, the campaign structures in the various Battletech supplements tend to be either player-vs-GM (effectively) or a single campaign (in the military, not RPG, sense) that's implied one-vs-one. At cons, outside of actual tournaments everything is a "big game," which we're trying to get away from because we don't get enough rounds in.

So the pondering continues... :bang:

csimian

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #117 on: 23 February 2019, 18:11:26 »
You may have reached analysis paralysis. Whatever you do, don't conclude that the only way to win is not to play...

The idea of linked scenarios with a fixed force is interesting, but what happens if a significant portion of your force is taken out in a mission?

Joel47

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #118 on: 23 February 2019, 18:24:22 »
I mentioned that.
You may have reached analysis paralysis. Whatever you do, don't conclude that the only way to win is not to play...
Not paralysis, just re-listing everything for rubber ducky analysis.

Quote
The idea of linked scenarios with a fixed force is interesting, but what happens if a significant portion of your force is taken out in a mission?
I think I mentioned it -- I don't have an answer, which is why I was looking at just smaller overall forces. If everyone is limited to a reinforced company there's less optimization. It does increase the value of omnis, though, and if someone has a bad couple of games they'll be very limited in what they can bring in the next game.

Another parameter I'd like to get rid of is the fixed BV, but I don't think I can do that without losing the PvP aspect. That's why I had the idea of having everyone play two games -- once as player, and once as GM. I don't think people want to try to finish a game in 2.5 hours, though, which is why I've pretty much discarded it.

Hellraiser

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Re: Phoenix, AZ - League Campaign
« Reply #119 on: 24 February 2019, 00:29:46 »
In regards to 12 units.

I'm not showing anyone had 12 units at the end.

Brand new players who had already lost several units had 18+.

I started with 9 back when we started with 8K,  the point of going to 20K was to allow people to expand so losses were not painful.

2 years into the campaign the largest forces were 25-30 units, many of which were small infantry platoons & BA squads


If brand new players were having issues when they could form forces a couple dozen strong then how is limiting them to 12 going to help?




My thoughts:

1.  I'd still like to try 4 maps per game both for more room to maneuver & to not place so much pressure on what single map is picked & how its laid out.

2.  TacOps gear.   I think a very small amount of it is good stuff.   Mostly weapons & ammo.    The ECM/AP options is just the normal stuff on steroids & I'd be fine w/o it.

3.  I like the ECCM rule.  W/O it C3 is just wasted tonnage & massively overpriced BV.

4.  The infantry healing was for simplicity.  Honestly, they are so cheap its not like your penalized for buying new other than the points you invested into skills.   Which would be fixed if we just turned skills into the purchase cost.   The 300 for a single skill up for a 100 BV platoon was the expensive part.   If instead we purchased it at 120 BV for a 3 Gunner then it would be fine.
Perhaps track XP to gauge WHEN the unit is able to skill up & link cost to the BV so skilling up that Atlas-8D costs more than the Locust-1V.
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo