IMPORTANT BT:Alpha Strike - Need help? Have questions? Post here!

Discussion in 'Alpha Strike (Tabletop Simulator)' started by MagnusEffect, Dec 17, 2022.

  1. MagnusEffect

    MagnusEffect Administrator Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Have any questions about the Alpha Strike ruleset? Feel free to post below...
     
    MagnusEffect, Dec 17, 2022
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  2. JayIsDead

    JayIsDead New Guy Bondi

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    I followed a link to find the weapon conversions tables to convert my Classic Battletech Mechs to Alpha Strike. That said I needed to be a member of Skjaldborg to view the files. I joined. I'm logged in, but I still cant seem to open the files. It just keeps telling me that I need to be logged in. Is there something I'm doing wrong or somewhere else I can find how to convert weapons from CBT to AS
     
    JayIsDead, Jan 3, 2023
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  3. DefiantZero

    DefiantZero New Guy Viking

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    Oh, its 7.
     
    DefiantZero, Jan 5, 2023
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  4. MagnusEffect

    MagnusEffect Administrator Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Sorry about the inconvenience. It should be open to the public. I will look into what the problem is. In the meantime, I will send you a link to our Discord. Check your PM's. I can send you any info you need once there.
     
    MagnusEffect, Jan 6, 2023
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  5. JayIsDead

    JayIsDead New Guy Bondi

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    So, it appears, and please correct me if I'm wrong, that when converting BT Record sheets to AS unit cards that MASC and Engine Super chargers are not taken into account and have no impact on the Target Movement Modifier. I didn't see a special ability for them either. Is there a house rule special ability that covers those?
     
    JayIsDead, Jan 18, 2023
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  6. MagnusEffect

    MagnusEffect Administrator Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    its covered on page 94 in the AS Companion:

    Basically, if a unit has MASC or a Supercharger, multiply the standard MV by 1.25 (round to nearest whole number). If it has both, multiply by 1.5. I hardly use them, but as far as I can tell, AS does not seem to account for any additional penalty beyond needing the tonnage and space to equip them according to Classic Construction Rules. Seems kind of an oversight to me.

    As far as house rules go, if they feel overpowered, here's one suggestion you could do to tone them down:
    1. Make the MV bonus from MASC and Superchargers additive to the standard MV. [Hunchback = 8" MV (Standard) + 2" MV (for MASC)].
      • Players use standard MV unless they announce they are using a MASC/Supercharger, in which case the following applies:
      • When a unit uses the bonus provided by MASC or Supercharger for two consecutive turns, add +1 to their heat scale. After three consecutive turns, add +1 heat and the unit takes 1 point of internal damage. After four consecutive turns, unit takes +1 heat, +1 internal, and +1 engine hit.
      • if the unit does not fire that turn, it can ignore the +1 heat penalty.
    2. Alternatively, you could just add the additional heat caused by MASC/Superchargers when calculating overall heat production. However, vanilla unit cards won't account for this so this second option may be more hassle than it's worth.
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2023
    MagnusEffect, Jan 18, 2023
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  7. JayIsDead

    JayIsDead New Guy Bondi

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    I
    Thanks. I just didn't see it in your conversion google sheet. It seems to me that the penalty for using masc is taken into account in that the speed boost is greatly diminished. In Classic BT, masc doubles your walking speed; a 100% increase. When you use it the first time you have a 1/36 chance in failure. If you only use it every other turn then that nearly negligible chance never goes up. If that were translated into AS that would be a 50% increase on walking speed if they were to restrict you to only using it every other turn to maintain minimum risk, then averaging that for simplicity to something that is the same every turn and hence doesn't have to be remembered. But in AS it only adds 25%, not 50%. that seems to indicate that an additional movement reduction in place of the possibility of failure. I think that the crits and tonnage are a reasonable tradeoff for a mere 25% increase in speed rather than 100%. Although the crits and tonnage for the supercharger are much less. The penalty of an engine hit is less severe than legs locking up, too. For simplicity's sake they are identical if the penalty is washed out. I think I will take that rule as is in my house.
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2023
    JayIsDead, Feb 4, 2023
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  8. MagnusEffect

    MagnusEffect Administrator Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Yes, but the problem I see with MASC in Alpha Strike is that there appears to be ZERO drawback to using it. In other words, there is no good reason not to have it equipped on EVERY Mech. This means there is huge potential for abuse from certain players. But then again, I almost never play with these advanced systems so it is possible I am missing some detail.

    My point is that if it is being overly exploited in your games with apparently no drawbacks, it probably needs to get nerfed.

    Personally, as a GM I take a maximalist approach when it comes to exploits in game design. It's less "fun" for the power creep munchkins out there, but I've never thought of their approach as being a better alternative (I myself am a recovered-munchkin, I've seen both sides in this argument). Reigning them in also prevents them from catapulting the difficulty scale into the stratosphere which can make everything more difficult to manage as a GM.

    But obviously, nothing is stopping you from ignore my sage advice; your game, your rules.
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2023
    MagnusEffect, Feb 12, 2023
    #8