Battletech - Also known as Trannytech

[BlackDragoons]

We do a lot of combined arms but we're all old fags our "youngest" in terms of playing years has been in to BT 10+ years.
We can't find a way to make protos worth painting, let alone playing. We're all into mechs but we know how to run good Vees pbi BA etc. protos just suck.

For no good reason I'd like to point out quick draws are super fun in mw5 even vanilla let alone modded. Pure mook mechs but basically a fat jenner and that can be really fucking cool.

To be fair, Protomechs in lore was born out of desperation as Smoke Jaguars material was on a decline and needing cheap battlemechs was needed.

Plus I'm guessing some Society members where whispering stuff into the ears of the Khan pushing them towards Protomechs.

 

[William Murderface]

I like protos as another tool in the toolbox. Just something fun to use once in a while besides Mechs/Vees/BA/VTOLs/PBI.

 

[William Murderface]

Well CGL is going to be updating the models of the primary Protomechs.

Given the nature of the original designs I don't think anyone is going to be upset with the design choices.

I like the monsters of mythology designs protos have now. But then again I like some of the goofier looking mech designs we've had over the years and detest what Shimmy and friends have done with the art.

 

[not william stenchever]

I think protomechs would have a better defined role if they were like oversized battlearmor like in Heavy Gear. Gears focus on firepower (mostly handheld and weapon pod based instead of integral weaponry) and mobility to the detriment of armor and have the added benefit of being able to take advantage of terrain as concealment and cover far more than battlemechs. They're pretty much the perfect middle of a venn diagram between infantry/battle armor, vehicles, and battlemechs. The intro cinematic for Heavy Gear 2 I think shows this pretty well.

 

[Corn Flakes]

I think protomechs would have a better defined role if they were like oversized battlearmor like in Heavy Gear. Gears focus on firepower (mostly handheld and weapon pod based instead of integral weaponry) and mobility to the detriment of armor and have the added benefit of being able to take advantage of terrain as concealment and cover far more than battlemechs. They're pretty much the perfect middle of a venn diagram between infantry/battle armor, vehicles, and battlemechs. The intro cinematic for Heavy Gear 2 I think shows this pretty well.

The problem is that there's not much space to squeeze in more firepower under 10 tons, and Clan BattleArmor in particular is already pretty efficient. Giving ProtoMechs locational damage didn't do them any favors either. Instead of being oversized BattleArmor, they became MiniMechs, and everybody knows how ultralight 'Mechs deal with incoming fire.

Personally, instead of giving them all those 'Mech-like construction rules I'd just have made them Clan Smoke Jaguar's answer to other Assault BattleArmor designs. Rules-wise: just much beefier and faster BattleArmor with bigger weapons, and the cost (in C-bills and BV) to match. Not like anyone ever really used the ProtoMech construction rules for anything useful, anyway.

 

[AbduluCthuluZulu]

I like the monsters of mythology designs protos have now. But then again I like some of the goofier looking mech designs we've had over the years and detest what Shimmy and friends have done with the art.

I think the aesthetic can still work, they just need to put more effort into the designs rather than literally copying the creatures 1:1. Make them look like actual war machines instead of kaiju holding laser guns.
Take one of the later designs like the Svartalfa for example, it's able to maintain its inspired appearance while still incorporating the design language and details of a mech.

And compare it to this Super Sentai villain reject.

 

[Corn Flakes]

I think the aesthetic can still work, they just need to put more effort into the designs rather than literally copying the creatures 1:1. Make them look like actual war machines instead of kaiju holding laser guns.
Take one of the later designs like the Svartalfa for example, it's able to maintain its inspired appearance while still incorporating the design language and details of a mech.
View attachment 6305229
And compare it to this Super Sentai villain reject.
View attachment 6305237

Oh, that's because they got Doug Chaffee to do the original designs and all his humanoid robots just look like dudes in suits. He draws good vehicles and humans, but for the love of God keep him away from 'Mechs.

Seriously, look at these:



Pretty sure any of the new guys they've got following the MWO/Flyingdebris design bible would do a much better job of making these things look robotic without losing their signature look.

 

[Snekposter]

For no good reason I'd like to point out quick draws are super fun in mw5 even vanilla let alone modded. Pure mook mechs but basically a fat jenner and that can be really fucking cool.

God, the Quickdraw is my go-to for an early heavy in MW5 Mercs due to the speed and surprisingly good firepower. Its pretty much the ideal cavalry mech.

 

[#1 Hot Sauce of Kiwi Farm]

God, the Quickdraw is my go-to for an early heavy in MW5 Mercs due to the speed and surprisingly good firepower. Its pretty much the ideal cavalry mech.

You should try the grasshopper fairly faster tanky and has a bunch of energy slots can get you through pretty much the whole game.

 

[Snekposter]

You should try the grasshopper fairly faster tanky and has a bunch of energy slots can get you through pretty much the whole game.

Yeah, but its short on missiles, and LRM's and SRM's have their niches in MW5, especially if you're using Yet Another Revamped Weapon like I am.

 

[Bassomatic]

You should try the grasshopper fairly faster tanky and has a bunch of energy slots can get you through pretty much the whole game.

Grass hopper is legitimately a good mech tho.

Both on table and mw5/O.

Depending on grasshopper variant you have one small mount (head) and some quick draws single mount but fit a bigger rack. In case of SRMs it's 2 tubes literally.

I prefer the hopper if I'm trying to win. But as a huge fan of cav mechs and style of play, quick draw is fun

To be fair it's just not worth the BV on a table. Like ever.

Thinking trying a custom tonight where I rip the ac5 out of my hunch back 5n for a ppc. I'll report back how it turns out

 

[Snekposter]

Grass hopper is legitimately a good mech tho.

Yeah, but if you ever wind up in close quarters the extra missile armament on the QKD will serve you a lot better than a large laser.

Besides, if you're using YAW/YARWE you get MML's once the Jihad hits, and oh boy oh boy are those fun since you get a freaking SRM-9 with Artemis, and you can't fit that shit in the head, but you sure can in a side torso. Plus there's the hero QKD that gets ballistic hardpoints in the arms.

 

[Moja Zemlja]

Yeah, but its short on missiles, and LRM's and SRM's have their niches in MW5, especially if you're using Yet Another Revamped Weapon like I am.

What's the niche for LRMs? I've yet to find a solid use for them beyond personal amusement of watching something get sandblasted by lurms.

 

[Snekposter]

What's the niche for LRMs? I've yet to find a solid use for them beyond personal amusement of watching something get sandblasted by lurms.

Well, in YARW they have a damn near vertical attack profile, so the damage tends be clustered on the head and torsos. Its a great way to weaken the enemy at range, especially with higher tier ones or anything with Artemis. If you follow up with an LBX to take advantage of any weaknesses you can do some serious pain.

 

[#1 Hot Sauce of Kiwi Farm]

LRMs are trash in MW5 SRMs however are amazing though run way hotter than they do both in TT and Battletech. Mods can allow you to put an ICE engine in your mech which can make an SRM boat not overheat. Got a Kintaro with an ice engine and 3 srm6 it melts anything in the game. Only Issues is that the ice engine is heavier meaning that it is slower than i'd like, but 70mph is okay for 3031.

 

[JJLiautaud]

Is there any in-lore reason why SRMs don't come in 20 launchers like LRMs?

 

[#1 Hot Sauce of Kiwi Farm]

Is there any in-lore reason why SRMs don't come in 20 launchers like LRMs?

No other than it would be extremely heavy and you would need to be in close range which limits your options as most stock mechs tend to have bracketed builds. If you want a SRM 20 the closest you'll get are MRMs or just more SRMs. I believe the SRM carrier has ten SRM 6 launchers.

 

[Sweeter and Savoury]

I stumbled across my old Mechwarrior 3 rip and decided to make it work on my modern system. luckily there are quite a few tutorials floating around out there.

I forgot how honestly fun this game was. My Bushwacker is a monster and for the time the graphics are pretty decent. I should have the Xpac somewhere too. when I get a moment I will scrounge the old HDs for it.

If you can find a copy I definitely recommend giving it a go.

 

[Sargon's wife's son]

Another part of the issue is that MGs like ACs have a range of calibres. Sure a .50 cal taking down a mech sounds dumb but what if its a 20mm?

a autocannon not a heavy machine gun.
20 millimetres basically a small artillery round

PRobably because it's the "next big thing that needs some diversity". Bah. Those idiots would probably never realize that piloting a Protomech is way more up their alley considering you need extensive surgery to even be able to pilot such a thing and then you need a constant dose of drugs to not loose your mind. Huh. Maybe there IS the trans allegory they looked for

all of the top fighter races in the entire world we're always men emotionally unstable weirdos get kicked out of the Air Force quite quickly.

 

[Moja Zemlja]

Well, in YARW they have a damn near vertical attack profile, so the damage tends be clustered on the head and torsos. Its a great way to weaken the enemy at range, especially with higher tier ones or anything with Artemis. If you follow up with an LBX to take advantage of any weaknesses you can do some serious pain.

That would make them better but even then unless you have UAVs to spot without LoS I think its better to just run SRMs.

a autocannon not a heavy machine gun.
20 millimetres basically a small artillery round

MGs in BT have a range of calibres like ACs do. MGs (in lore) can go up from .50 to 20mm in size.