Mad Cat

[VF5SS]

The cockpit lifted right off a B-29 (or any Boeing WW2 bomber) doesn't hurt either. Give it is a kind of real world feel.

[Vendetta]

but what of the glaug

Glaug + steroids = Mad Cat?

[VF5SS]

Technically its Marauder + Catapult = Mad Cat.

[Karrick]

I always preferred the more humanoid clan mechs over the Timber Wolf. In the case of the Kodiak, it was because the damn thing had lasers for claws. The Executioner, Summoner, and Hellbringer are also favorites. I still use the clan naming conventions because of Mechwarrior 2. Sadly, by the time I was interested in the tabletop game and RPG, their popularity seemed to have declined too much to find other players. For those of you who have played Battletech, were there more one off battles or did you tend towards campaigns?

[White Haven]

Come to Richmond. For some obscure reason, Virginia is some sort of Battletech Mecca. As for the game itself, I enjoyed campaigns much more, but I played plenty of both.

[Imperial Overlord]

Almost always played BTech as part of a Mechwarrior campaign.

[VF5SS]

All of the Mechwarrior campaigns I participated in ended so badly ;_;

We need to get a game of this going. Battletech without all the ink, paper, and minis. It's really fun to play and even the bots are halfway smart.

[Nephtys]

All of the Mechwarrior campaigns I participated in ended so badly ;_;

We need to get a game of this going. Battletech without all the ink, paper, and minis. It's really fun to play and even the bots are halfway smart.

We should totally do some Megamek. Perhaps even as an STGOD sorta deal? Just get a few players, sort out some houses and then we can take to the field with a campaign. Or we could do a Solaris League.

[Karrick]

Virginia a mecca for any kind of tabletop gaming? My inner yankee is terribly confused. I'll third the idea of SDN Megamek; this summer has been lacking in any sort of wargaming/RP so far.

[White Haven]

All the RPG communities around here are meh, although the ones that overlap my old Battletech crowd can be hilarious depending on the alcohol consumption. But Battletech, for some obscure reason? Richmond and NoVA are packed with players. Go figure. Hmm. How IS Megamek now, anyway? I haven't played with it in ages. If we do, I'll have to go grab Total Warfare and get the skinny on just what changed since my day. ...And did they ever get Megamek Aero off the ground?

I could dig some BTverse black-navy warfare too along with the regularly-scheduled groundpounding.

[Nephtys]

All the RPG communities around here are meh, although the ones that overlap my old Battletech crowd can be hilarious depending on the alcohol consumption. But Battletech, for some obscure reason? Richmond and NoVA are packed with players. Go figure. Hmm. How IS Megamek now, anyway? I haven't played with it in ages. If we do, I'll have to go grab Total Warfare and get the skinny on just what changed since my day. ...And did they ever get Megamek Aero off the ground?

I could dig some BTverse black-navy warfare too along with the regularly-scheduled groundpounding.

Megamek last I played about two years ago, was basically everything you ever needed in BT. It even added VTOLs and LAMs full rules down, with togglable variant rules such as the new partial cover rules (IE, taking cover vs an accurate shooter = no more deathtrap!). ASFs weren't added in, but that may have changed. Two years is a long time.

Anyway, ASFs are stupid broken. I'll take my 3025 STU-D6 Stuka against virtually any Clanner and blow their brains out.

[VF5SS]

I'd like to suggest if we do this that we stick to tech level 1 just to keep it simple and because I like that stuff more :3

[White Haven]

You can have my double heat sinks when you pry them from my cold, clammy hands. And they're cold BECAUSE of the double heat sinks, dammit.

[Nephtys]

3025 is perfectly fine for me. Play is more refined when everyone is equally crippled by glaring bad designs.

Alternatively, 3050 IS is half TERRIBLE TERRIBLE GARBAGE, quarter so-so, and quarter decent upgrades. And one or two ridiculous powerhouses.
3055 is decent. 3058+ is where things get 'optimal', and probably too easy. (No Thunderhawk for YOU, White Haven!)

[VF5SS]

3025 is perfectly fine for me. Play is more refined when everyone is equally crippled by glaring bad designs.

Can I have some more superfluous rear firing medium lasers? I find the 3025 medium and light 'Mechs the most fun because they're so simple.

[Nephtys]

I'll start a Megamek thread in G&C.

http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic. ... 4&t=135382

[White Haven]

...Okay, okay, no Thunder Hawks. ...Alacorns!

[Lord Relvenous]

I just reinstalled Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries a few days ago. I had forgotten just how much fun the game is to play. Although the computer games and novels is all I know about BT, I really like the universe. Is BT an expensive game to pick up (compared to money sinks like 40k)?

[VF5SS]

Well that's the beauty of Megamek is that you can try the board game out before you start buying minis.

[Nephtys]

To be honest, Megamek is better than the tabletop in actual mechanics. I've never played tabletop mind you ( hear more than 3 mech v 3 mech games get bogged down bad), but the fact that a computer tracks the following REALLY speeds up gameplay and makes it fun:

Your damage levels, effects of criticals
Your movement 'dodge' base to hit modifier
Your movement 'attack' shooting modifier
Your heat level and modifiers
The 50+ or so rolls on hit tables and marking down damage locations per firing turn for larger games.
LOS and distance of weapons
ESPECIALLY double-blind combat rules with real LOS/Active Radar detection.

So many rules. While simple to learn and fun, they're mostly a nuisance to track in person.

VF5SS, you should start some games with people! I'm out for the weekend, but if White Haven's available, challenge him to a DUEL OF HONOUR for me ;D

[VF5SS]

Considering the "Dervishstation" you inflicted I thought you were a board game vet lol. I actually played the board game using my scraps of material for several years before MegaMek. I have about 20 minis and several dozen paper cutouts. But yeah if anyone wants to do some Megmek I'm down. Just PM me.

[White Haven]

BT is much cheaper than 40k because you're very rarely fielding anything even close to a multibattalion/regimental force as you are in 40k. As for keeping track of all that, once you get some experience it becomes quite easy to keep track of on the fly. Sure it's not as fast as Megamek, but like any tabletop game it's a social event as much as a wargame. I miss that part of Battletech from Megamek.

[Steve]

For those interested in Megamek, since it came up, I started an AIM chat channel, sdnmegamek. Granted, it's got a case of the rickets right now, but it's there if people wanna use it.

[starfury]

The Timber Wolf was the face of 3050 Battletech for the same reason that the Warhammer was of 3025: it looked pretty good (yes, the Mad Dog looks better) and its clearly the king of the heavy weight class (although the Warhammer had to share that honour with the Marauder). The assaults are bigger and badder, but they're slower and rarer. You're much more likely to get your hands on, or be crushed by, the king of the heavies.

essantially a well rounded design that was good for both beginners and veterans, in addition to looking good, I see what you mean, I still had a 3025 technical readout I bought years, ago the original, with the unseen designs.

[Dark Hellion]

Another thing about the Mad Cat besides its iconic look is that it is the epitome of everything the Clan invasion brought to the Inner Sphere and Btech in general. As was said, it was a mech that could fight toe to toe with IS mechs 25 tons heavier and outrun mechs 25 tons lighter. The average Mad Cat pilot would be considered an IS vet. And it was only a heavy mech amongst many other heavy and assault mechs. With that kind of power arrayed against them, the IS realized that their last couple centuries of petty squabbles wasn't actually about who was going to rule the galaxy. Unless they got their asses in gear it was going to be the Clans.

The Clan invasion opened so many new doors for stories and created so many new factions, many of which become incredibly popular with players. And the Mad Cat was the ambassador of that.