Battletech - Also known as Trannytech

[RSU 1741]

I really hate that most mech games are japanese "mechs" that fly around like jets and are super thin.

But Battletech mechs (at least a lot of the OG ones) are Japanese. It required quite a lot of retcons (and mostly the video-games) to fix in the public consciousness the feeling of the Mechs as lumbering tank-like machines and not nimble, humanoid fighters. The vydia solidified the idea because Western devs essentially aped arcade military simulators to some degree, and the Clan designs help that by removing the more human-like shapes.

Again, nothing in Btech makes much sense. It's a cobbled-together setting that lacks internal coherency, but by the Gods it's fun.

 

[Bulk Bogan]

I know saying this is going to be unpopular, but I never got the memetic love for the Urbie. I get that it's friend shaped for a lot of people, and I get that it's one of those fun bad shitbox mechs that I've professed my love for in the past, but why did it become one of the faces of the franchise? Is it really just that it's a dumpy little egg with a mech-scale obrez'd rifle?

I dunno, it never clicked for me like it does for others. The Charger is way more funny by my reckoning... though I suppose it is in many ways the Urbie's natural opposite. Big fast mech with no guns vs tiny slow mech with biggest gun, etc.

 

[Glory To Arztotska]

I know saying this is going to be unpopular, but I never got the memetic love for the Urbie. I get that it's friend shaped for a lot of people, and I get that it's one of those fun bad shitbox mechs that I've professed my love for in the past, but why did it become one of the faces of the franchise? Is it really just that it's a dumpy little egg with a mech-scale obrez'd rifle?

I dunno, it never clicked for me like it does for others. The Charger is way more funny by my reckoning... though I suppose it is in many ways the Urbie's natural opposite. Big fast mech with no guns vs tiny slow mech with biggest gun, etc.

Serious answer: It's cheap, surprisingly durable, makes for a small target in its preferred environment, packs a HELL of a lot of punch for the price and weight, is built/repaired from common off-the-shelf parts when many "better" mechs are reliant on rare or lostech, it's modular enough for some solid variants including with an ICBM LAUNCHER, it's easy to learn how to pilot, and just generally is a solid workhorse in cityfights as the name advertises. Popular choice for planetary militias.

 

[Broken Talisman]

I know saying this is going to be unpopular, but I never got the memetic love for the Urbie.

I don't like it because it looks ugly. Simple as. They make good opfor for co-op campaigns or tabletop so it gets punching bag cred. I don't think I actually own a single one in plastic. I would consider getting the LAM Urbie just because it's ridiculous and worthy of meme status.

 

[Corn Flakes]

I know saying this is going to be unpopular, but I never got the memetic love for the Urbie. I get that it's friend shaped for a lot of people, and I get that it's one of those fun bad shitbox mechs that I've professed my love for in the past, but why did it become one of the faces of the franchise? Is it really just that it's a dumpy little egg with a mech-scale obrez'd rifle?

I dunno, it never clicked for me like it does for others. The Charger is way more funny by my reckoning... though I suppose it is in many ways the Urbie's natural opposite. Big fast mech with no guns vs tiny slow mech with biggest gun, etc.

A lot of people love goofy overspecialized units in games. Sure, the Urbie is patently useless in anything other than close-quarters "come and get me" fighting, but when it works the meme is real. It's like 40K Ork players who love (or loved, haven't seen the latest editions) teleporting mobs of Slugga Boyz into the enemy backline and charging the enemy's Captain of Chaplain. It is usually not a good idea? Yes. Is it a pretty specialized tactic that only really matters against a few armies? Yes. Is it ridiculously funny every time it happens? Yeeep.

Same with the trashcan. It's a goofy hyperspecialized machine but when you get the chance to jump behind a much heavier mech that's overextended and fill its rear armor with 10 (or 20 if you're a spicy Capellan) autocannon damage at point blank range, you can't help but smile.

 

[Tactical Wizard]

I know saying this is going to be unpopular, but I never got the memetic love for the Urbie. I get that it's friend shaped for a lot of people, and I get that it's one of those fun bad shitbox mechs that I've professed my love for in the past, but why did it become one of the faces of the franchise? Is it really just that it's a dumpy little egg with a mech-scale obrez'd rifle?

I dunno, it never clicked for me like it does for others. The Charger is way more funny by my reckoning... though I suppose it is in many ways the Urbie's natural opposite. Big fast mech with no guns vs tiny slow mech with biggest gun, etc.

I was with you on this one until I actually used Urbanmechs for urban defense and they actually worked extremely well in their stated role. It was just one little egg-shaped robot after another teeing off with a ppc or AC10 after another. That's their hidden strength. They're the cheapest way to get one more big gun onto the table.

Edit: And when you get someone with a headshot from an AC10 that crits the cockpit, watch their face. That is the closest thing that you will ever see to the look on the face of a man in the electric chair before they throw the switch.

 

[Negev]

Then Battletech isn't the game for you. The controls of a Battlemech are partially haptic and in the very first Battletech novel, Decision at Thunder Rift, it's mentioned that Mechwarriors need to be trained to think a certain way so that their mech doesn't trip over it's own legs. They're also quite nimble. In that same novel, the main character @Grayson Death Carlyle takes out a crusader by turning a blind corner and immediately doing a baseball slide underneath a fuel pipe.

I like battletech, I even like the fast mechs to a degree I just hate that most mech games are the super fast flying mechs since it makes them all feel very samey to me. Battletech does also have the best mech which is of course king crab.

 

[I'mma real anime gurl]

Coming in to ask the most important question, what the fuck is a Battletech Gothic?

 

[The Bogwater Rises]

Coming in to ask the most important question, what the fuck is a Battletech Gothic?View attachment 7127708View attachment 7127710
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This feels like the random thing a battletech group I'm in just mentioned. This is some "What if alternate reality thing" that seems ... really fucking stupid to do, but I guess you could take the mechs for pirates.

However, it's like "Grimdark Battletech" with kaiju and shit from what I've heard. I could be totally wrong as I'm not looking into it because I don't really care about it lol.

 

[BlackDragoons]

Coming in to ask the most important question, what the fuck is a Battletech Gothic?View attachment 7127708View attachment 7127710
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Most likely an April Fools that got leaked extremely early.

 

[Moja Zemlja]

Most likely an April Fools that got leaked extremely early.

It is, but its also very high effort to be an April Fools shitpost compared to XTRO 1945. I reckon they're using it being an April Fools thing as a way to test the waters for more alternate universe crap set around SuccWar era because its the shit that sells the most and even if people aren't interested in playing it they could still be convinced to buy the models.

 

[RSU 1741]

because its the shit that sells the most and even if people aren't interested in playing it they could still be convinced to buy the models.

It pisses me off though. There's a ton of Mechs that lack models or good models (for example the entire post 3060 era is chock full of models that are even somewhat iconic thanks to Mechwarrior 4) and instead we get this... thing. And this after the complete disaster that was the last Kickstarter with insane prices for everyone, and of course with them crying that THE TARIFFS are going to force them to raise prices.

Also the usual controlled spaces are in full damage control mode nuking or harassing everyone that responds negatively because "you need to be positive!".

I wonder if the crappy UrbanMech/UrbanMech LAM joke packages sold enough to build this. No one complained for the previous April's Fools (we had Shadowrun Battletech, Zombie Battletech, Disney Battletech, XTRO 1945 an' shit) but when you start chopping limited resources to do non-core material, people are going to start to ask questions.

If CGL was a well-organized company with good product output, good customer service and true international reach and not a bunch of amateurs running around headlessly I guess the response would have been a tad less vitriolic. The idea that they want the GW market of people that simply buy models without playing the game is worrisome.

 

[p1138]

Also the usual controlled spaces are in full damage control mode nuking or harassing everyone that responds negatively because "you need to be positive!".

The subreddit has a mod post pinned at the top of the thread warning people to not be negative about it. I think that's more ridiculous than whatever the fuck this battletech gothic thing is supposed to be.

 

[RSU 1741]

The subreddit has a mod post pinned at the top of the thread warning people to not be negative about it. I think that's more ridiculous than whatever the fuck this battletech gothic thing is supposed to be.

Honestly, the official forums (retarded as they may be) are more open to criticism despite hand-wringing from the staff. The Reddit jannies are working overtime, but after the takeover we all knew what the tune would be.

 

[Broken Talisman]

The subreddit still has the trannytech logo. Tells you all you need to know about how it's being ran.

 

[HTTP Error 404]

This feels like the random thing a battletech group I'm in just mentioned. This is some "What if alternate reality thing" that seems ... really fucking stupid to do, but I guess you could take the mechs for pirates.

However, it's like "Grimdark Battletech" with kaiju and shit from what I've heard. I could be totally wrong as I'm not looking into it because I don't really care about it lol.

Most likely an April Fools that got leaked extremely early.

Here's the leaked video. It's Battletech 40k. The first of a series of "Alternate Universe" / "Alternate Timeline" versions of Battletech, this one is "Grim and Dark."

 

[Moja Zemlja]

It pisses me off though. There's a ton of Mechs that lack models or good models (for example the entire post 3060 era is chock full of models that are even somewhat iconic thanks to Mechwarrior 4) and instead we get this... thing. And this after the complete disaster that was the last Kickstarter with insane prices for everyone, and of course with them crying that THE TARIFFS are going to force them to raise prices.

I think they're doing this route because their hands are kind of tied going back and fucking around with eras people care about so alt-universe stuff is the most viable way to cash in on it. I just wish if they did this it'd be plausible in-universe althis like what if the Clans didn't invade and there was a fifth SuccWar.

 

[I'mma real anime gurl]

Here's the leaked video. It's Battletech 40k. The first of a series of "Alternate Universe" / "Alternate Timeline" versions of Battletech, this one is "Grim and Dark."

Let's be real they'll be Pirate mechs/Solaris mechs/Mercs instead of Battletech 40k

 

[BlackDragoons]

Let's be real they'll be pirate mechs/Solaris mechs/mercs instead of Battletech 40k

Honestly I like the designs they perfectly fit for Pirates/Solaris/Deep Periphery stuff.

 

[RSU 1741]

I think they're doing this route because their hands are kind of tied going back and fucking around with eras people care about so alt-universe stuff is the most viable way to cash in on it. I just wish if they did this it'd be plausible in-universe althis like what if the Clans didn't invade and there was a fifth SuccWar.

They already did a WhatIf where the Clans did not exist: Empires Aflame. Again, no one said a thing when the April's Fools where funny AU/shitpost things done for fun (and often done for free). The problem is that CGL has fucked up massively with the Kickstarter, online shop and product timetable and people are starting to get pissed off, and wasting resources on something that no one asked is unwelcome.

Honestly I'm also entertaining the idea that this is a complete April's Fools and the entirety of the thing is 3d printed and mock-ups. I mean, maybe they truly wanted to make a funny April 1st and this is going out of control already, and with their socials managed by some woman the chances of doing damage control are nil.

Also I'm tired of the eternal 3025-3050/3025-3050 repeat ad nauseam. Mechwarrior 4 was a huge success and it was Civil War, no one complained back then. Get up some writers and write some decent books or sourcebooks on it. Re-write the Dark Age in something decent. Flesh out the Jihad, get people interested in what happens after. If this isn't shitposting imagine being a guy who legitimately waited for Celestials or Society mechs (I like mad scientist types) and he's told "wait until 2026-27 we're focused on le funny AU with the usual 3025-era mechs". At this point I'd better 3d print everything. It's like they're terrified to go after 3050 for ??? reasons.