Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

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NickAragua
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

I don't believe it's come up too much since then. This mission we just ran was all about running away, which Delta lance did very well (the tanks to the south had absolutely no shot at coming after you guys, thanks to the combination of mud to block the tanks and woods to block the hovercraft). The August 29th mission was more of a combat mission, and looking at the service record you disabled a Hunter tank and legged a Wasp. That mission had a lot of whiffs because of the snow making all shots harder and the heavy woods everywhere.

It's still a good theoretical investment in my opinion, because possible crits on vehicles happen pretty often (about 1/6 times and then we get about a 1/3 chance of a crit actually happening, which the crit bonus improves to about 1/2, so about 1/18 crit chance vs 1/12 crit chance)
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Stefan Stirzaker »

I like the sound of option one with less reinforcements kicking us in the ass while attacking dropship
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by gbasden »

We've had a bad run of losing mechs recently, it seems. If #1 lowers that risk it's probably a good tradeoff for increased risk of missing the dropship.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

In theory the choice between #1 and #2 would depend upon whether we gain more from having the whole company there than the enemy gets from available reinforcements - not sure if there's any way to know that. Otherwise, #2, by having more units, would have more dice rolling so more variability and so more risk. Being risk averse, I would lean towards #1, but trust the judgment of our esteemed commander (except on salary issues).
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

After some discussion, we decide to split up our units to attack the dropship. Even with a full company of mechs, we'd wind up having a lot of trouble if we don't destroy that dropship and clear out quickly enough. Better to keep the reinforcements from converging. Plus, if split them up, there's more chance for a particular fight to result in our having battlefield control and thus more chance for salvage. Last time we salvaged a dropship, it was kind of a wreck, so we only really got the money for spare parts (a few million C-Bills). If we can get this one to surrender *without* blowing it to pieces, it might be worth more (a couple hundred million C-Bills). Hell, the Steiner guys might even let us keep it we ask nicely enough.

Delta lance will run the diversionary attack on the dropship's search parties in Sector 2. Alpha will screen the dropship assault against the pursuit force from Sector 3, while Beta will engage the dropship itself. We'll commit our air support to Alpha's action, since they'll be facing the most opposition.

May 24, 3031
Delta moves in on a communications relay in Sector 2 and blows it away, easily attracting the dropship's search parties. The search parties consist of three lances of hovercraft and an equal number of tracked vehicles. It's a nice day out, but we got to pick the battlefield, which means we pick a relay to blow up in heavily wooded terrain so they can't all shoot at us at once. The opfor tries to approach us from all sides, but woods from the southwest block any approach, and also allow us a retreat route if we need it. Our objective here is to occupy the enemy force for at least a couple of minutes.

As before, Delta is Archinerd in a Dervish, Paingod in a Griffin, Madmarcus in a Wolverine (providing a much-needed initiative bonus and reroll) and Freyland in a Quickdraw. Plenty of tanks to shoot here for sure.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
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We'll focus on the smaller group of tanks to the southeast and east while the hovercraft and their buddies struggle to find a way through the bush. Several enemy hovercraft leave the field, probably seeking an alternate route to get at us, while a pair attempt to make their way through the woods and inevitably get stuck. A few autocannon shots fly our way while our lasers and LRMs fly the other way, but we mostly just light up the forest, blowing up a couple of trees. Madmarcus and Paingod take some time to grab trees for clubbing purposes.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
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That's about as close to the edge of the woods as we're going to go. Those hovercraft want a piece of us, they're going to have to come in. As the ranges close rapidly, we score a couple of medium laser hits and a PPC hit, with Madmarcus damaging a Vedette's treads while Freyland works on a Scorpion tank. Archinerd jumps up on a small rise, firing SRMs at and stomping another Scorpion (LRM-variant), completely wrecking it.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
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Madmarcus unleashes an alpha strike on his target Vedette, blasting it with lasers and SRMs as it desperately fires back with its woefully underpowered weapons. Between the treads melting off and the turret being jammed, the crew is quite eager to abandon the vehicle. Freyland works on the nearby Hunter tank (which really shouldn't be in melee range with its LRMs), cutting off armor and inflicting light motive damage.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
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Freyland takes some damage from a nearby Scorpion's dual SRM launchers, but the armor on the mech holds. The mech retaliates, firing medium lasers and SRMs at the hapless tank, blasting through the armor and wrecking the drive train.

Archinerd exchanges fire with the Vedette in front of him, inflicting some damage but nothing critical, while the vehicle has trouble bringing its main gun to bear. Madmarcus disables the Scorpion in front of him with a six-pack of SRMs, blasting chunks out of treads.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
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Excited that our units are kind of near the edge of the woods and maybe he can get a shot at us, a Harasser promptly crashes into a tree as he tries a tight turn. Whoops!

Archinerd's target Vedette tries to get away, but doesn't have the mobility, so the Dervish catches up and plasters it with a medium laser and SRMs, immobilizing it and rattling the crew around.

Freyland eats a couple of SRMs from a nearby Scimitar and retaliates, aiming directly at the engine compartment and putting a laser through a weak spot in the armor (there's that Human TRO coming in handy, otherwise it would have disabled a weapon instead). The hovertank settles down along a peaceful-looking trail and is out of the fight.

Paingod blasts the Hunter to the south with a PPC shot, fusing enough wheels together that it can't move any more, although it does get off an LRM salvo at Madmarcus, knocking his mech around a little bit.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
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The enemy force wavers a little bit - they're having trouble getting shots off at us while we're picking them off one by one. We temporarily back off into the woods where Paingod only takes a single SRM which barely does more than bounce off the armor.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
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We continue flitting about at the edge of the woods. Madmarcus pokes out just long enough to provoke a Saladin hover tank to gun it for a good firing position, then slinks back into cover, while the Saladin gets stuck between two old-growth oaks. Freyland breaks west to track down a loose Vedette there. He still takes a solid hit to the left torso from his target Vedette as he lasers it. The rest of weapons fire this round whiffs.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
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Freyland tracks down his target Vedette and blows through its engine compartment with all the surgical precision of three rapid fire lasers, a spread of SRMs and a salvo of LRMs from point blank range.

Having lost over half their numbers and most of their ability to actually get at our units or flush us out (neither the hovercraft nor the wheeled Hetzers can get into the woods), the rest of the enemy force rolls and hovers back to their dropship, retreating in good order. Even in their weakened state, engaging them in the flat terrain to the northeast is inadvisable so we let them go. They'll be too late anyway. We send the infantry and loose tank crews packing as well, we're here for a raid, not to run a prison camp.

We'll get a pretty good haul of salvage for this one, including some much-needed spare armor and missile ammo. The Steiner guys strip what they need as well.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

May 21, 3031
Sector 3 - Factory Patrol Zone

As Beta lance moves to assault the enemy dropship, Alpha lance moves up into a swampy region pretty close to our target factory. When Beta is detected, Alpha intercepts the enemy units moving to reinforce the dropship from the west as they pass through. The wet terrain and trees should provide us good cover against the superior enemy numbers, while the lighting conditions (it's dawn) will be to our advantage since our mechwarriors are generally better shots.

These are the same guys that ran off Delta lance when they were conducting recon earlier - it's a mix of hovercraft and slower tracks. We also spot a Griffin, though the Wasp that Zenn7 legged earlier obviously still hasn't been fixed. Technically, they've got air support, but it's a little piece of crap Guardian with a single medium laser. Alpha lance is Gbasden in the Awesome, Xwraith in the Thunderbolt, Isgrimnur in the Vindicator and El Guapo in the Rifleman. Our air support indicates they'll be there in 70 seconds.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
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Alpha makes contact with the enemy and moves west through some woods. As expected, the Marik units have trouble moving through the heavy woods and swamp. Because we're jerks, we set some of the woods on fire. Not like it's going to spread or anything.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
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Again with the awful paint jobs. In fact, they're so awful that the overhead recon camera has to switch filters to compensate. Isgrimnur gets shot at a little bit as he struggles to get out of a muddy bog that he jumps into, but all the firing misses.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
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Due to the wind conditions, the area becomes a raging inferno a little bit quicker than we wanted. Xwraith takes some fire from LRMs and AC/2s but the shots do very little actual damage. A brave Maxim zips up to him and is "lightly grazed" by a boot. Isgrimnur is the only one on our team who scores a weapons hit, landing a few LRMs on a distant Griffin stuck in some bog terrain.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
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El Guapo scores a hit on the Maxim, chewing up some armor, while Isgrimnur hits a distant Vedette with LRMs. AC/2 rounds bounce off Gbasden's armor.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
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Gbasden lines up his crosshairs on the Griffin to the west and lands a solid headshot, melting through the armor and given the mechwarrior some serious burns, in addition to nailing it in the left torso. The enemy mech wobbles and falls over, out of sight behind a hill. El Guapo tracks a Saladin as it zips around the battlefield, pumping AC/10 rounds into its rear section. The flimsy armor is not enough to stop the projectiles and the hovertank disintegrates. Xwraith takes a few LRMs from a Hetzer but most are stopped by the surrounding woods.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
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"If it sounds like gunfire and bees, that means those autocannon rounds are coming pretty close. If it just sounds like gunfire, then they're just spraying rounds to make themselves feel good.". Nothing hits.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
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"This is Lucifer flight, dropping cluster bombs on designated targets." Lucifer One flies in and drops a full load of cluster bombs on some Vedettes and other tanks clustered around a hill. The effect is pretty devastating, his wingman counts four tanks destroyed and another three disabled. One limps out of the smoke, treads flapping as it drives backwards.

Gbasden smirks in satisfaction as he melts the armor off a Vedette that separated from the pack. Isgrimnur eats a volley of SRMs from a nearby Pegasus but retaliates by stomping it into the ground as it gets a little too close.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
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Our bomber guy's wingman takes some fire as he loops around to take another pass at the battlefield, but the aircraft holds together as the pilot zaps a Saracen hovertank passing over a small lake - the little vehicle starts to sink and then another small laser punctures the fuel tank, lighting the water surface up instead. The bomber swings north and blasts an SRM Carrier, and is pretty sure he blasted off more wheels than the vehicle actually had. Xwraith heavily damages a Condor's hover skirt, slowing it down to about the speed of a treaded tank in a swamp.

Round 9:
Spoiler:
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With a large chunk of enemy firepower suddenly down, we move out of the uncomfortably hot woods and in for the kill. We exchange some fire, and our ace Lucifer pilot nails the Condor that Xwraith started working on earlier, disabling it just short of the burning forest.

Round 10:
Spoiler:
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Lucifer 2 comes around, dropping bombs from altitude at a cluster of Vedettes, Hunters and other tanks to the southwest, while Lucifer 1 strafes a group of hovercraft with lasers. The altitude bombing run isn't too impressive - some bombs hit, but we only disable a single LRM Carrier, while L1 manages to get a Maxim.

Round 11:
Spoiler:
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El Guapo rips open a Vedette rolling around behind Xwraith, blowing off the main gun and then through the engine compartment. Our Lucifers take a moment from shooting ground targets to blow away the Guardian fighter buzzing around. Isgrimnur comes around to the enemy Griffin (he's stuck in that swamp but good) and points the PPC directly at the cockpit. The mechwarrior powers down.

The rest of the enemy force retreats. Without that bombing run, it would have been a tough slog at best.

Salvage operations are pretty uncomfortable due to the nearby forest fire, but we cut a firebreak so our salvage crews are safe. And hey, spare mech in case we lose one! The annoying part is that our second Lucifer took some damage to the landing gear, so he'll have to VTOL it for the time being. Not that we really have a runway available, but it's extra wear and tear on the fuselage. We also claim the Von Luckner just in case - we've got some spare tank crew (I think we kept them around because it's more expensive to fire them than to just keep paying the symbolic salary) and the Von Luckner is no joke: AC/20, 16 SRMs on the Turret, and... well, ok, the rest is a joke. Rear-facing LRM launcher (why?) and front-facing Flamer. But it's pretty nasty up close (which is why it didn't really do anything last battle - we stayed well clear of its effective range and it spent most of the time stuck in a swamp anyway).

Xwraith Mk III appears to have figured out how to move the Thunderbolt around without falling over - piloting skill improved so he's now a 4/4.

So far so good - no reinforcements for the dropship, and the damage we took is pretty symbolic, just armor. Next up, we'll see how the actual dropship assault went.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Paingod »

I'm curious to see how that goes. :D
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Hyena »

So am I. Do dropships have torsos?
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Isgrimnur »

Don’t let us down, Beta.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Stefan Stirzaker »

Hey its quiet around base. Where'd everyone go?
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by gbasden »

Go Alpha!
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

May 21, 3031
While Alpha and Delta turn aside enemy reinforcements, Beta commits to attacking the Free Worlds League dropship. They seem to have taken the approach of touching down on a nearby landing strip, then taxiing out into the mountains. Must have been planning to be out here for a while. On the plus side, no way that giant turkey is running away.

Beta is Zenn7 in an Awesome, Hyena in a Striker, Cylus Maxii Mk II in a Phoenix Hawk, and our other NPC rookie in a Blackjack. Along for the ride is Gary the liaison, with his Griffin 1S's leg bolted and welded back on. As we approach, sensors resolve the opposition, and it's looking pretty rough. Two Ontos Heavy Tanks (each packing a whopping 8 medium lasers and 2 LRM/5 launchers in a turret), two Demolishers (dual AC/20s), a pair of Manticores (PPC), as well as a Rhino (LRM/20s) and a Partisan (AC/5s). In addition to the dropship. The terrain is pretty mountainous, so we should be able to use said mountains for cover as we approach. We'll need to pick off the mostly short-ranged opposition from PPC range before we try to work on the dropship.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
We use a nice, tall mountain peak for cover as we approach.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
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Our lighter units crest the mountaintop and exchange some ineffective fire with an enemy Manticore.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
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One of the upsides that mechs have over tanks - mechs can get to the top of a mountain and find good cover a lot easier. Our Blackjack-driving rookie uses her long-range AC/2s to good effect, blasting away at a Manticore's motive system and jamming the turret. Gary takes a few of LRMs, but he's fine.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
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Our big guns crest the hill and open fire. PPCs impact against the Rhino. The armor shrugs most of the damage off (it's an incredibly tough tank), but Hyena does cause damage to the tread mechanism, and the assault tank begins to throw sparks as it moves. Our lighter units surgically fire large lasers and AC/2s at an already slow-moving Demolisher, rendering it immobile (and thus completely ineffective as we're not even going to think about going into range of those AC/20s). Hyena takes some return fire, most of which impacts the hill in front of him, with only a few token missiles pinging off the left arm armor.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
Looks like the enemy tank commanders have wised up and decided to move out of line of sight. Except for the Rhino. The assault tank absorbs an unbelievable amount of firepower - 4 PPC shots, an AC/10 burst and a couple of AC/2 rounds as well. The front armor looks like a piece of abstract art, but the tank is still intact.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
Zenn7 drills through the Rhino's front armor, putting it out of its misery. The Partisan rolls back a little, firing at Hyena and scoring a couple of AC/5 hits. Cylus Maxii discovers the outer range of the dropship's weapons systems, as he takes multiple LRM hits from both it and the Rhino (before it expires), losing armor on the left arm. A combination of fire from Gary and Hyena breaches the Partisan's armor, and the tank (very slowly, due to damaged treads) starts rolling back down the mountain.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
Looks like somebody's issuing orders down there, because the Ontos tanks move up to fire their LRMs, while the remaining Demolisher rolls forward. The Demolisher is the biggest threat, so we focus most firepower on it. We pound it pretty good, removing almost all the front armor plating. Cylus Maxii breathes a sigh of relief as he's able to duck behind a rock just as the dual AC/20s rip streams of high-caliber ordnance through where his mech was just a fraction of a second ago.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
Image
That Marik "elan" lasted only about ten seconds, as the tanks scurry back into cover, and there's no line of sight to anyone. On the plus side, this gives Zenn7's mech a chance to go from glowing white to dull red and stop melting the surrounding rocks.

Round 9:
Spoiler:
Image
The Demolisher comes back out. Hyena blows it away, stripping away the last of the armor with the PPC and an AC/10 burst, then carving up the interior with medium lasers. We can all breathe a sigh of relief now, as that's it for the AC/20s. Now we just have the Ontos tanks and Manticores left.

Round 10:
Spoiler:
Image
The tanks take cover again. That's fine. We're going to start moving our mechs to the west across the mountain top, so we can get in the dropship's blind spot and pound it to bits.

Round 11:
Spoiler:
Image
The Ontos tanks take issue with the previous turn's plan and roll north to intercept and engage our mechs. Cylus Maxii comes face to face with a barrage of lasers. Most miss, while his panicked laser shot nearly cores out one of the tanks, blasting through the right side armor and destroying the transmission lines. His mech loses the left arm, however, to a concentrated medium laser and LRM barrage.

Round 12:
Spoiler:
Image
Zenn7 and a Manticore exchange PPCs, although Zenn7 has more PPCs. Cylus Maxii pulls back.

Round 13:
Zenn7 and Hyena melt down the remaining Ontos. Zenn7 takes a couple of lasers and a PPC from one of the Manticores, while Hyena strays a little too close to the dropship and takes a salvo of LRMs, the impacts forcing him to take a knee.

Round 14:
Spoiler:
Image
Cylus Maxii takes a long-range large laser shot at a Manticore as it attempts to drive by the flaming Ontos wreck and strips the last of the armor from the front. The rookie Blackjack capitalizes on this by putting AC/2 rounds through the breach. Once autocannon rounds are rattling around in the interior, it doesn't really matter what caliber they are, and the tank ceases to function. Hyena takes some more LRMs from the dropship. His armor is still holding, but it's pretty unpleasant. On the plus side, there's only one operational tank left.

Round 15:
Spoiler:
Image
The remaining Manticore hides out as our mechs cross into the dropship's blind spot. Although Zenn7 isn't quite enough and catches a salvo of LRMs, taking some armor damage.

Round 16:
Spoiler:
Image
We advance down the west side of the mountain. When the Manticore comes out to take a shot at us, it receives concentrated fire from all five mechs, getting blown to bits. Cylus Maxii slightly miscalculates the maximum range of the dropship's LRMs and has to jump jet pretty hard to dodge the 35-missile salvo.

Round 17, 18, 19:
Spoiler:
Image
With no mobile elements left to oppose us, it becomes a turkey shoot. On a 1900-ton, 66 meter long turkey. PPCs and autocannon rounds fly in and melt armor down.

Round 18:
Spoiler:
Image
As our mechs approach and pound on the left side armor (removing it entirely), the dropship surrenders.

As we call in the salvage crews, we have a discussion (some over radio) with the Steiner liaison, and come up with a couple of options.

1) We let the Steiner guys have the dropship. This will pretty much guarantee that we can take any salvage for the rest of this contract.
2) We claim the dropship by salvage rights, but immediately sell it to the Steiner guys, which will net us 145M c-bills, but we'll probably have to give up most of the rest of the salvage on this contract.
3) We claim the dropship by salvage rights and keep it.

Option 1 could work out ok for us, theoretically - although, it's unlikely we're going to be salvaging 150M c-bills worth of anything.

Option 2 would put as at about 260M C-Bills, which is enough to buy a Union when we get back to base (or 48M C-Bills short of being able to buy an Overlord, not that anyone's going to sell us one of those), according to current market values. The reason we want a Union or an Overlord rather than a Triumph is because the Triumph is designed to carry a regiment of tanks - we're a battlemech force, so we want a mech carrier. In addition to dramatically lowering our transport costs and improving our unit rating (possibly to the coveted A), a mech carrier dropship will allows to hot-drop onto the battlefield as needed, rather than have to rely on employer and rented dropships and our legs.

Option 3 means we have a dropship that's roomy enough to carry all our stuff around. It'll basically serve as a cargo transport so we can save on transport costs when traveling from system to system. Less exciting but transport costs are one of our main expenses.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

Nice work.

#2 seems to make the most sense - a Union seems pretty useful.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Archinerd »

I agree, let's buy the dropship we want and not make do with the one we have.
Option #2.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by LordMortis »

Which one gets me paid? I put in a lot of hard work :ninja:
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

Can I take the new dropship out on joyrides?
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

When we get the Union, sure. Good luck working out the controls though. Also, fuel/repair costs may or may not come out of your paycheck.

LM: Us salvaging the dropship (option 2 and 3) will probably get you paid more... uh, overall, in the long run, in terms of better contracts for the company. If we sell the Triumph, all the money from that sale will go towards the purchase of a new dropship. The payment structure is really freaking weird.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Stefan Stirzaker »

Option 2 sounds good.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by gbasden »

Agreed with Option 2.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Hyena »

Yeppers, #2. How much will we have in reserve after we buy the Union? I would hate to spend everything on a dropship and not have the C-Bills for enough gas make it to the next system or repair our mechs. Or pay LordMortis... We'd NEVER hear the end of that one...
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

Anyway, after we sell the Triumph, I'll take the cash over to the dropship store to get the Union. I'll handle everything.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Isgrimnur »

If you come back with an onion, I'm using for ablative armor.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

We'll probably have about 70M C-Bills left in the bank, so we should be good to go. We'll still need to wait until we get back to Outreach to go Union-shopping.

The dropship turns out to be mostly undamaged, other than having been completely stripped of armor on the left side and a little structural damage. The Steiner guys load up the other battlefield salvage and fly it back to the base camp. They even volunteer to let us strip armor and parts off the tanks they've got stored there if we need to.

Zenn7's Awesome actually got pounded hard enough that our techs are unable to finish replacing armor before the next sortie.

Once we patch up the captured Griffin and hose the Marik stench out as best we can, it becomes Stefan's new ride. It's not as fast as an Assassin, and, in fact, has a completely different role (long range support vs close-in backstabber). Well, when we get back to civilization, we might convert it to a 1S instead, or stick you back in the Assassin. For now though...

May 26, 3031
As Delta carries out another sweep of the factory zone and begins heading back to base, Madmarcus' sensors catch some blips - an enemy recon force trailing our unit. After some consultation with Gary, we decide to set up an ambush. Our SRM infantry is transported to a suitable site and deploys hidden along with Madmarcus and Freyland, who find some big rocks to hide behind. Archinerd and Paingod will engage from long range to lure them in, then we'll spring the ambush. And, of course, we have Gary in his Griffin 1S.

The enemy numbers advantage will also be somewhat neutralized by the fact that it's pitch black and there's a freaking ice storm.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
Our rear-line jumpers advance while the hidden units lie in wait.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
They uh, have an Ostscout. With the improved sensors. Jackass paints Freyland's Quickdraw. Guess that's it for our ambush. Luckily, between it being pitch black and the hail splattering everywhere, the better-than-30 LRMs launched at Freyland hit nothing but dirt.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
The enemy units pull back a little. Are they waiting for something?

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
The enemy Ferret scout VTOL gets a little too close to Madmarcus' Wolverine and gets zapped big time. The large laser goes wide, but the five SRMs completely evaporate the little scout craft. Other than that, some LRMs fly around but everything misses. The Ostscout hops up to Madmarcus and throws a punch, but Madmarcus steps aside and stomps in the arm, nearly severing it in the process.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
Our infantry gets spotted by an airplane flying disturbingly low overhead. One of the little bastards hits Gary's Griffin with a four-pack of SRMs, sandpapering armor. The Ostscout gets in behind Archinerd, who flips arms and throws off the other mech's punch with short ranged weapons fire.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
The pounding hail combined with pitch black conditions make it pretty difficult to target anything, but, somehow, Paingod manages to spot a Saladin's headlights and aims his PPC at them. The headlights go out. The Ostscout continues picking on Archinerd but winds up eating three medium lasers from Freyland, heavily damaging armor across the mech. Freyland follows up with a boot to the left leg, stripping armor from there and knocking the scout mech to the ground. Maybe he'd have done better if his buddies came to help him out.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
Archinerd's computer identifies a Harasser from the blurry mess in front of him and beeps a "lock-on" signal. He squeezes the trigger on his LRMs and is rewarded with a series of explosions as the hovercraft is blasted apart. The Ostscout gets the drop on Freyland but is unable to capitalize, while Freyland flips arms backwards and takes the armor off the Ostscout's right arm. A Jenner blasts Gary's Griffin with a couple of medium lasers and SRMs while Gary is unable to retaliate effectively.

Round 8:
Spoiler:
Image
The Ostscout's pilot appears to be feeling that he's taken too much damage and decides to retreat. Sensors show another couple of enemy units arriving, but they're mostly just milling around to the west, unable to move anywhere meaningful. Paingod and Archinerd appear to have gotten into a pretty good rhythm, with Archinerd plastering another Harasser with LRMs while Paingod strips the armor off a Galleon with the PPC.

Round 9:
Spoiler:
Image
Archinerd apparently really does not like Harassers.

Round 10:
Spoiler:
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Madmarcus and Gary (joined by Freyland) harass the lighter enemy mechs to the southwest and force them to pull back. Archinerd plows LRMs into a Saladin, taking it out of action permanently, while Paingod works on but does not manage to destroy a Saracen.

The rest of the enemy force retreats, not really having the stomach for a protracted fight where they can't hit anything and get slowly picked apart by LRMs and PPCs. After the ice storm clears, the Steiner salvage crews come out to grab the tank wrecks, although they're nice enough to let us help ourselves to some armor plating. To be honest, we didn't even take a scratch that mission, although we used a lot of LRM 10s.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

NickAragua wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 12:37 pm Archinerd apparently really does not like Harassers.
#TimesUp
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Post by Archinerd »

NickAragua wrote: Fri Mar 23, 2018 12:37 pm To be honest, we didn't even take a scratch that mission, although we used a lot of LRM 10s.
:oops:
Sorry, can't help it. It's like opening a sleeve of thin mints, you just keep going until there is nothing left.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by AWS260 »

So the infantry just huddled behind some rocks in the freezing rain the whole time? Earning their keep as usual.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

They'd have probably been more effective if that stupid Ostscout didn't screw up our ambush.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

June 1, 3031
The Marik guys don't come looking for a fight, so we come looking for one instead. Alpha lance tracks a lance of enemy heavy tanks but loses them in the ruins of a town in sector 2. As our mechwarriors close in to flush the enemy out, a company of tanks moves in from the east. We'll need to drive the newcomers back if we want to be able to find the units we're tracking - we don't really want to leave those guys hanging out so close to our area of operations.

Alpha lance is Gbasden in his Awesome, Isgrimnur in the Vindicator, LordMortis in the Hunchback, El Guapo in the Rifleman. We've attached Xwraith in a Thunderbolt as well to make it a reinforced lance. The liaison has no objections to our activity here but reminds us that this is technically not part of our contract. However, we're stuck here until it's time to rendezvous with the jumpship so we need to keep the area around our base camp clear, not to mention we want to reduce the amount of enemy firepower available to reinforce the factory when we do decide to raid it.

The visible enemy force is a company of tanks - a Zhukov heavy tank (which we haven't seen, but it packs dual AC/10s in a turret mount), a Manticore, a couple of weapons carriers and an assortment of hovercraft. We'll need to be careful around the town, since enemy units are concealed there and, unlike our opponents in the last mission, we don't have an Ostscout or a bunch of advanced sensors. So, this'll be an experience. Possibly in catching sixty LRMs from point blank range.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
Those of our mechs that don't have a good shot on enemy units get a little paranoid and start blasting away random rubble and building ruins to "check for hidden enemy units". A couple of LRMs fly back and forth between us and the visible opfor, but nothing hits.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
Some enemy units charge up to our mechs, including a Saladin and a Packrat, which unloads an infantry squad brandishing SRMs. Isgrimnur fires his weapons at the Saladin, blasting armor chunks off the front and left side while the LRMs go wide. It's enough to get the Saladin to reconsider its presence on the battlefield. SRMs ping and blam against Gbasden's armor for little effect, while LordMortis plows through the center of town.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
El Guapo "detects" a pair of the hidden enemy units when a bunch of SRMs, AC/10 rounds and a PPC shot plow into his mech. He keeps the mech upright despite the incoming barrage, though. He can't get a good shot at the ambushers, but he does manage to immobilize a Galleon as it rolls by to the south. Gbasden blasts the Zhukov with three PPC shots, melting a lot of armor and some treads off the front, but fails to finish it. LordMortis runs up to a Manticore to the east and feeds it an AC/20 burst and large lasers, as well as a boot, but the tank's armor holds. To the north, Xwraith engages an LTV-4 hovertank, giving it a solid kick to the front, but the hovercraft continues zipping around.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
El Guapo's best course of action is actually to continue hanging out in the woods to avoid getting shot up by the Zhukov and Manticore. LordMortis' opponent Manticore blasts him with a PPC, medium laser and SRMs, damaging an actuator on his leg. He fires back, blasting through the armor with the AC/20 and severely damaging the internal structure with a medium laser.

The Zhukov under El Guapo takes a couple of PPCs from Gbasden but its armor holds, and it retaliates, stripping armor from the Awesome's right torso and taking out the PPC there, along with a bunch of heat sinks. The Manticore helps as well.

To the north, Xwraith disables his LTV-4 quarry with several medium laser shots.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
We're getting too beat up, so it's time to retreat. The weapons carriers get into range, and El Guapo catches the tail end of an SRM and medium laser barrage, taking minor damage. Isgrimnur and LordMortis finally finish off that damned Zhukov, ripping it to scrap with the PPC and AC/20.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
We make our way west, getting harassed all the way there. Gbasden's Awesome exchanges fire with the Manticore, eating a PPC to the damaged right torso, losing the arm as well, and takes a hit to the engine as LRMs make their way past the center torso armor. The Manticore takes three PPCs but keeps on trucking. An LRM Scorpion puts some LRMs into the Awesome as well, damaging the gyro, while a zipping Condor damages the lower leg and a heat sink. The Condor gets disabled by Xwraith's medium laser salvo, though. LordMortis uses his AC/20 and lasers to corral a Pegasus a little too close to him, at which point he snaps off half the front hover skirt with a stomp.

Gbasden can't keep his mech upright through all the punishment and it goes down, damaging the engine shielding further. With the mech heating up dangerously, it's all he can do to whack the shutdown override before the mech powers down completely.

Round 7:
Spoiler:
Image
Now, this becomes a game of "Defend the Awesome" as enemy aircraft zip by, although they decide not to shoot at us for whatever reason. El Guapo moves west, with the Packrat chasing him down, which turns out to be a mistake, as the now-empty APC is perforated by AC/10 rounds. Isgrimnur and LordMortis team up on the second Manticore, with Isgrimnur blasting armor off the left side while LordMortis fires at the front. The crew inside is hosed down by a leaking lubricant line, so they'll be spending their time driving off to the west and not firing. Isgrimnur also takes the time to zap the nearby Scorpion, stunning its crew as well, before completely shattering it with a stomp. LordMortis is annoyed when the nearby infantry uses SRMs to breach his left arm armor and kicks some loose rocks at them, nailing two.

At this point, the enemy force is reluctant to continue their fighting while we're reluctant to continue searching the town. Gbasden staggers his mech to its feet and we walk off unmolested, while the enemy force recovers their damaged and disabled tanks. LordMortis grabs the severed Awesome arm and limps off the battlefield.

Gbasden got a little bit beat up, but it's mostly cuts and bruises, and a sprained arm, which will take about two weeks to heal up. More annoyingly, his Awesome is on the verge of falling apart. On the plus side, we can take the spare parts and fix Zarathud's Awesome to bring him back into action. The rest of Alpha's mechs are ok after some armor repairs. We'll need to temporarily re-assign Xwraith's mech to Lt. Scrub as we need an officer to head up a lance.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

I just want to point out that I'm on a hot streak regarding not getting my Rifleman blown up.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by AWS260 »

Yes, that was definitely my main takeaway from this battle.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

AWS260 wrote: Mon Mar 26, 2018 7:51 pm Yes, that was definitely my main takeaway from this battle.
That, and that Zhukov was also the name of the second-in-command of the Terran invasion fleet in Starcraft: Brood War.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

Dude, that's Stukov. :lol:

I gotta say, those damn Zhukov tanks really are tough as their namesake beetles though.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by El Guapo »

NickAragua wrote: Mon Mar 26, 2018 9:59 pm Dude, that's Stukov. :lol:

I gotta say, those damn Zhukov tanks really are tough as their namesake beetles though.
eh, close enough.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by gbasden »

El Guapo wrote: Mon Mar 26, 2018 3:58 pm I just want to point out that I'm on a hot streak regarding not getting my Rifleman blown up.
I wish I could say the same!
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by NickAragua »

You can!

Now, the Awesome is a different story.

June 2nd
Delta lance conducts recon around the factory and makes note of a facility being guarded by a reinforced tank company. We decide to pop in and get a good scan of the area. A heavy fog impairs movement and visibility, but more for the opposing force than for us.

Delta is still Archinerd in the Dervish, Madmarcus in the Wolverine, Freyland in the Quickdraw and Paingod in the Griffin. The defending force is a mix of hovertanks and slow tracked vehicles. Sensors show some medium mechs out on patrol that'll probably be joining the party shortly.

We'll need to get a good count of enemy numbers, and it'll help later on if we give them a bloody nose as well.

Round 1:
Spoiler:
Image
We advance aroud the south of the facility, taking a couple of pot shots at long range, but don't hit anything. Partially due to the fog and partially because we're shooting at fast-moving hovercraft from long range.

Round 2:
Spoiler:
Image
Paingod ever-so-briefly gets a lock-on tone when moving the targeting reticle over a Condor and squeezes the trigger on the LRMs. Eight out of ten missiles hit, heavily damaging the hover tank's motive system and rattling the crew.

Round 3:
Spoiler:
Image
A Pegasus strays a little too close to us and gets blown away - Archinerd hops into some woods and blasts some turbines to slow it down, Paingod melts down the armor on the left side with the PPC, then Madmarcus sends a four-pack of SRMs through the weakened section, detonating the fuel tank. Some return fire comes our way, but it all misses.

Round 4:
Spoiler:
Image
Freyland hops into a lake, but those wily hovertanks target the upper half of his mech. Armor holds though. Madmarcus holds the large laser to cool off, firing off the medium lasers and SRMs instead, while Freyland retaliates against the Condor's medium lasers by surgically drilling into the engine compartment with medium lasers of his own. And then lighting up the fuel tank.

Archinerd blasts a Pegasus as it crosses the river to the north, disabling one of the fans. The hovertank splashes into the water and sinks rapidly.

Round 5:
Spoiler:
Image
Paingod takes aim across the river, melting through a Scorpion tank's armor and engine compartment with the PPC. Madmarcus aim is spoiled somewhat by having to dodge a PPC shot and multiple LRM salvos. Archinerd, being able to steady his mech very nicely, gets a solid LRM salvo onto the PPC-firing LTV-4 tank.

Round 6:
Spoiler:
Image
We've got the sensor data we need, and a pretty accurate count on the enemy force. But, we deliver a few parting shots before the enemy aircraft and mechs get here. Paingod takes a couple of AC/5 rounds, retaliating against a Hunter tank, firing a PPC to blast through the front armor and injure the driver while his LRMs work on the treads, immobilizing the tank. Madmarcus finishes off the disabled Scorpion by detonating the fuel tank with a medium laser. The LTV-4 tries to get cute and hide behind a building, but Freyland's got his eyes on it. And lasers. And SRMs. The tank drops to the ground. With Archinerd severely damaging a Saracen (it's a miracle the hovertank doesn't sink into the river), there's nothing that can pursue us across the river.

The enemy force holds position on the other side of the river, but by the time the enemy mechs arrive, we're long gone. The Steiner analysts conclude that this facility is probably where the prototypes are being kept, so we'll be back.

Meanwhile, our liaison informs us that one of their dropships has been forced to land in a mountainous region, and "politely requests" that we send a unit to protect it while the crew powers the engines back up. When asked why we didn't know about an extra dropship, we're basically told that it's none of our business.

So, who do we assign to defend the dropship?

Alpha - Vindicator, Hunchback, Rifleman, Thunderbolt. Lt. Scrub will borrow El Guapo's Rifleman while he nurses a leg injury.
Beta - Awesome, Striker, Blackjack, Griffin
Delta - Dervish, Quickdraw, Griffin, Wolverine

Some other considerations:
Any forces attacking the dropship will probably be pretty substantial. Do we want to assign a second lance? The mission will be much easier, but the Marik guys are likely to divert more forces against us in that area in the future.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Isgrimnur »

When will hovercraft drivers learn that it’s a bad idea to go over water when it’s an active firefight? I mean, it makes for easier kills, but it’s got to play havoc with their insurance rates.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Archinerd »

Awesome, I didn't get my Rifleman blown up either.
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Freyland »

My Rifleman is doing fantastically as well, thank you!
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Paingod »

It was like target practice. :D
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Re: Let's play: Battletech via MegaMek

Post by Hyena »

Which unit will most likely need two lances, the assault on the factory or the defense of the dropship? If all they have is a medium lance and a few (fewer now) ground units, I say we send two "smaller" lances to the dropship and the heaviest lance to the factory. The smaller ones will be better able to take advantage and maneuver in the mountains, anyways, right?
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