Anyone want to play Battletech tabletop?

[Destroid]

All this MWO stuff has got me thinking about battletech again and I'd like to try another game of it some time. There's some software specifically for playing BT online (megamek). I don't care what era, but I'd want to use stock designs and play a pretty small game to get back in the groove. Fairly flexible on time of day, especially on weekends.

I'm asking here because I've checked a few IRC channels and they seem to be mostly full of idlers.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Well, maybe someday. It's been ages since I played BattleTech.

 

[oscar]

Never played but would be keen to get into it.

 

[Destroid]

Shall we set up a game then oscar? I'll be available on one of thursday or friday evenings and over the weekend. We should probably play 3025 or 3050 to simplify the rules, and stick to mechs, no vehicles or infantry.

 

[oscar]

Uni exams at the moment but sure! I have zero experience though

 

[fastjack]

I'd like to get involved I used to really enjoy battletech, even though I never really played competitively (played mechwarrior rpg). I am available most evenings from 6-9 pacific time or I can arrange for a weekend game.

 

[Destroid]

All right, download megamek (what we will use to play), from there you will be able to check out the mechs numbers etc, although they won't mean much to you. I can build a pair of relatively similar small forces of 4-5 mechs each if you like or we can build our own forces using the BV restrictions. No designs newer than 3025, selected from the IS starter box set of mechs.

Have you played the computer games?

 

[fastjack]

All right, download megamek (what we will use to play), from there you will be able to check out the mechs numbers etc, although they won't mean much to you. I can build a pair of relatively similar small forces of 4-5 mechs each if you like or we can build our own forces using the BV restrictions. No designs newer than 3025, selected from the IS starter box set of mechs.

Have you played the computer games?

(Not sure if this post was meant for me specifically)

I have played all of the computer games and even messed around with megamek against the bot (thought of using it for large fights in the rpg I ran but it wasn't quick enough to make up for losing the interaction at the table). I am very familiar with the boardgame and universe and have played it off and on for over 12 years. I just meant to say that whenever I played the battletech boardgame I was teaching someone how to play or else it was a scenario I had personally constructed, and not in a balanced way but to satisfy my desire for specific scenarios based on the fiction/theme. So basically I come pre-equipped for an excuse for when I suck despite being a long time player of the game.

Personally I enjoy playing stock variants with faction appropriate mechs in either 3025 or clan invasion era. I would be happy playing anything though. Lance on lance based on BV sounds good to me to start. If we get enough people interested maybe we could run some themed engagements in a sort of a campaign of some sort, maybe based on the system from tactical (or strategic?) operations. Probably best to start out small and simple I guess.

 

[Destroid]

That was aimed at oscar, I started typing before your message turned up. I've played before but not over megamek and not for a long time so no doubt the first game will be pretty slow. If Vaarna wants to play this weekend or we get some more interest we could set up a couple of games.

 

[Tripicus]

I would be interested in playing, although the next few weeks I likely can't schedule anything. I haven't played in over a decade, but I'm still relatively familiar with the game. I was always interested in the scenarios. Aren't there campaign paths in these new era reports that they released? Might be worth looking into.

Would you be playing with double blind rules, or just keep it simpler with full visibility (I'm assuming megamek can do both).

 

[Destroid]

Full visibility at first I think, to keep things simpler for those of us just learning.

 

[oscar]

No, but I'm aware of the plot and the basic premise of things.

 

[Father Walker]

I could give it a spin. Played board Battletech once in my life, though. The game is pretty complex, isn't it?

 

[fastjack]

I could give it a spin. Played board Battletech once in my life, though. The game is pretty complex, isn't it?

By today's boardgame standards or with a lot of the expanded rules it is definitely complex. However, I think especially with just the core rules and megamek tracking the target number modifiers anyone could pick it up in a handful of games (at most). The program shows what is affecting what, so if two light woods hexes are intervening it draws the los line through them and near where you click fire it says tn+2 light woods. The hardest part of the rules to learn with megamek imo would be the effects of the various critical hits.

 

[Destroid]

Well, if anyone wants to play today I'll be in this irc channel at 10am UTC, 8pm AEST, 3am PST, on the 7th (about 7:15 after this post). I'll have some small forces made up and ready to go then and I'll be idling there for the rest of the night if no-one wants to play at that time.

 

[Destroid]

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

 

[oscar]

Good game, Destroid! I'd never played Battletech before but think I've got a pretty solid grasp of it now. Except some highlights soon

 

[Destroid]

Oscar and I had a very fun game, forces were as follows:

Steiner (Oscar):

Kurita (Destroid):

These were thematic forces, set in the fourth succession war ~3030. The Steiner force is heavier and tougher, while the Kurita force is more mobile. It was an interesting game with plenty of learning for both of us, some notable moments were when the Jenner suffered an ammunition explosion in its missile magazine and erupted into a ball of fire. Later the hunchback had it's head shot off by the Dragon's autocannon, while the Wolverine managed to boot the legs off two mechs over the course of the battle (melee combat turned out to be much more effective than either of us expect). We called the game when Oscar had a single remaining mobile mech (the Grasshopper), while I had only lost the Jenner, though the Wolverine was severely damaged. We played around 10 turns for a play time of perhaps two and a half hours, quite fast by tabletop gaming standards and we will be considerably faster in future games. I had a lot of fun and will definately look to play more games, which I will document properly in future. Megamek is sufficiently mature that it basically feels like playing a computer turn based strategy, instead of a computerised tabletop game.

Final positions (Oscar in yellow, Destroid in blue):

Oscar, unfortunately I was wrong about it automatically recording the turns, next time we play I will screenshot it as we go.

 

[oscar]

Destroid's mobility and ability to jump allowed him to run rings around my slower mechs and all too frequently get shots on my rear and sides, which I tried to counter by bunching up my mechs and covering the blind spots of each other's firing arcs and hoping to out-attrition Destroid. Made a fighting retreat to the hills when my Hunchback got torn apart, but before then things had been pretty close.

Melee combat also seems pretty feasible with the aforementioned success of the Wolverine in crippling my Commando and Centurion.

167 damage to the Jenner

 

[fastjack]

Sounds badass, sad to see some of my favorite mechs get destroyed so easily (hunchback, jenner), but I recently discovered how badass the 3025 grasshopper is so no surprise he survived.

 

[Father Walker]

Too bad you're in Australia. It's like 8 hours forward in comparison to Potatoland. Still, I'd play a game, granted that we'd find time which is fine for both of us.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Melee combat is really good in BTech. Just try using a charge attack with an Atlas, or if you really want to be an asshole, stick jump jets on it and use Death From Above.

 

[panzertoter]

Andrzej, możesz zagrać ze mną jakby co.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Any chances for an earliest era possible AAR?