1014 replies to this topic

[Spokes]

Not that we can really see colors in the dark.

[cmopatrick]

mine is night-ops black (actually midnight blue, deep-space black, and charcoal in flat paints within a fractal camo pattern)... not good on ice planets or out in the open in a desert map, but at night...

only the blue emblem of the Great Goose and a gray 'Mech designation number "99" break the pattern.

[Spokes]

My first exposure to the Battletech setting were the three "Saga of the Gray Death Legion" books-- when I'm trying to write BattleMechs, my mind always crawls back to Trellwan, Verthandi and Helm. In particular. . .
***********

Grayson's hand pressed the Locust's control stick forward, and the 'Mech leaned forward, one armored bird's foot clawing at the soft sand slope before it. The machine lurched and seemed to stumble slightly, then Grayson heard the whine of protesting servos as the Mech's computer drew on his sense of balance and struggled to remain upright.

One giant foot found purchase, and the other foot lifted. The Mech's head lurched above the rim of the canyon. Now he saw the scene directly through the Locust's sensors on the 180 screen. He struggled with the stick, willing the machine up and forward. One flat, four-clawed foot cleared the edge, the flanges spilling sand, and then the Locust was up and onto the hard, flat desert surface. The Locust's bird-like form leaned forward and it's spindly legs swung up, forward, and down with shifting, mechanical movements.

In theory, Grayson knew there was no way one 'Mech could sneak up on another across open terrain. BattleMech hulls mount sensors that cover the entire spectrum, infrared to ultra-violet, as well as sound, laser ranging and radar. The Mech's computer creates a composite 360-degree scan of the entire battlefield that is instantly available to the pilot. In practice, things were not so simple. MechWarriors are human, and, caught up in the excitement of battle or the thrill of a chase, a pilot might override or ignore a computer's signals.

- Decision at Thunder Rift, pg 160-161

*********************

There is also a scene in the second book where a mixed group of armed agro-mechs and BattleMechs are suddenly caught in the open at night with high intensity flares and searchlights. The agro-mechs are blinded by the sudden intensity of the light, but the BattleMechs are not affected.

As a general rule of thumb, you can hide a BattleMech from sensors with favorable terrain, special tarps or other tricks and some luck, but once you start moving you're going to be detected, especially if you have line of sight with the enemy. A 'Mech's tracking system is constantly sifting data even if the MechWarrior isn't actively looking at it-- a computer that notes a Mech sized magnetic anomaly approaching from behind is going to display a warning, even if the pilot is looking forward with the IR sensors at the time.

[dal10]

i call noticing the bear.

[Janitor101]

Then post, c'mon guys.

[dal10]

i am finishing up my next post right now.

[Spokes]

Right back at you Janitor. . .Mr. Vega is being awfully quiet back there.

[dal10]

there, finally got it done, 17 drafts later...

[Janitor101]

O Rerry?

Yay!
One reason I came up with for not using the Patton's turret as a shield is because (to hell with erratas and the game saying it stores ammo in the hull, sounds like it'd take forever to reload, even with an automatic system,) assuming there was ammo in the turret, you'd be carrying around a high explosive shield, ala Shade's Commando on a stick/sword.
Although I did honestly roll dice to see what you could salvage.

Edited by Janitor101, 07 April 2013 - 07:02 PM.

[dal10]

where the ammo is stored is dependent on which 3025 you have. it is stored in the turret for the original and the body for the revised copy. also is said group heading into the woods or out of it or along it? (note still being serious about mist heading through the woods to flank, in a fight like this he would be detrimental if he stayed with the group in the woods.)

Edited by dal10, 07 April 2013 - 07:20 PM.

[Janitor101]

They are not in the woods, they're out in a loosely wooded (Few trees and small structures break up the field) field. If that makes sense.

[Sparks Murphey]

Quick question, when it comes to range for LRMs, are we going with the BT tournament-legal value of 630 metres, the advanced "extreme range" value of 840 metres, or the MWO value of 1000 metres?

[dal10]

Janitor101, on 07 April 2013 - 07:23 PM, said:

They are not in the woods, they're out in a loosely wooded (Few trees and small structures break up the field) field. If that makes sense.

yeah it makes sense, it means the fire support mechs could actually do something, and gives my charger cover to get around them. in heavy trees lrms are useless due to trees.

[Janitor101]

Welp, I am not familiar at ALL with BT tabletop rules, like at all, so I'm leaning toward using MWO's ranges for ease of access for those who are not former/current BT players.

[Thom Frankfurt]

Janitor101, on 07 April 2013 - 10:08 PM, said:

Welp, I am not familiar at ALL with BT tabletop rules, like at all, so I'm leaning toward using MWO's ranges for ease of access for those who are not former/current BT players.

Yikes. Cover just became prime real estate.

[cmopatrick]

Spokes, on 07 April 2013 - 05:56 PM, said:

Right back at you Janitor. . .Mr. Vega is being awfully quiet back there.

now, now, just because you and I post more than the rest of them combined...

oh... wait, that's just me, isn't it?

[guardian wolf]

Can I see the contacts off to my right or am I flying blind on this one?

[guardian wolf]

Left?! Where ever they are?!

[dal10]

in front of us. that is where they are.

also, doesn't that crusader have as many lrms as our fire support?

Edited by dal10, 08 April 2013 - 07:21 AM.

[Thom Frankfurt]

dal10, on 08 April 2013 - 07:13 AM, said:

in front of us. that is where they are.

also, doesn't that crusader have as many lrms as our fire support?

I think we have one more 10 rack than it does, but that Crusader should be a though nut to crack.

Edited by Thom Frankfurt, 08 April 2013 - 09:25 AM.