I've been playing an ATB campaign and feel like I've got a decent idea of how much of it works. I've encountered some bugs (I'm using 0.3.23, which has some issues, like the invalid mechs that cause saves to fail to load if I select them as salvage), so I'm planning on starting a new campaign with 0.3.26 when it is available, and I understand that should be a more or less stable build.
I have a few questions about ATB:
1) I have read about "support" missions for infantry. How do I get them, and what do they do?
2) Perhaps related to the above, how is it best to integrate infantry into the TOE? As their own unit, or organized in a company of three platoons with their 3 APCs?
3) I have read that you can configure the bot to use individual initiative to select which unit it moves (to speed up turns) while not moving your force to individual init. How do you do that?
4) ATB seems to roll more missions for larger units (perhaps one roll per Lance or equivalent in the TOE?). Is that correct?
5) ATB seems to create missions for lance equivalents with 3 or more units in them. Because of that, I have been organizing artillery and aerospace units as 2 per Lance equivalent so that they are not forced into a mission where I dont want to use them. Is that the best way to prganize them?
Anyway, I'm very impressed with how far MekHQ and MegaMek have come. It's been years since I played MegaMek in Mekwars. I'm really enjoying the ATB generated missions, as it lets me play a single player campaign. O0
1 ) You should download and use MHQ 0.3.25 (see that Ralgith the correct version number :P )
2 ) AtB doesn't handle Infantry very well. Heck Princess has a hard time using them as well. Generally, I use them as Reinforcements and keep them in an over-sized lance so they don't show up in the Briefing Room and aren't chosen for battles. Using Infantry in the Support Missions is the way to go.
3 ) Depending on the speed of your computer you might not even need to use Individual Initiative. The main drags on speed are when Princess is using very fast units on a complex map. Right now I'm playing on a 2 year old laptop and Princess has control of about 24 units. Things are moving along smoothly.
4 ) Yes, you are correct. I find it useful to assemble oversized Lances (more than 6 units) so that they are not considered for Battle Rolls. I attached a couple of WIP files for AtB rules. The last tab of the Mukai XLS describes some alternative rules for Large Forces. They work out pretty good. Also, remember, the point is to have fun. You are your own GM. If you don't want to fight the 6th Chase mission of the month, just delete it. Mukai's optional rules also expands on Artillery, ASF, and Infantry missions. He put it all together from the suggestions of several players (me included :) ). I have only used this rules since they were released.
5 ) AtB only considers lances of 3 to 6 units. Anything else doesn't count. You can also, as mentioned in 4, just delete the "crazy" battles.
The number 1 rule of AtB is... there are no rules... consider it a skeleton for creating fights easily. Change it all you like. Cause the 2nd rule of AtB is... HAVE FUN!
