PHI Lance

I THINK we salvaged your Cyrano...

 

I did. I tested it too. It is awesome. Possibly too awesome. I think you will like it. Especially the Hunter-Killer and Scout (the latter I might rename); 50 alpha damage in one turn!

Check the dropbox in my custom designs folder (make sure you "copy" the file, not move it).

 

This is why it is a "test" campaign. Since we've only just started, I see no problem with it. We will have to do a bit of figuring together later, but I see no problem with crediting any XP earned from last week to a new character. I believe that will make 3 people in Phi Lance. The last can be filled with an NPC or we may pick up once more; I'm not sure yet. We will need to get you guys all fitted and up to date. Hordac, I will need you and your lance to pick out which VTOL you guys want. The Aeron probably really is your best bet. I purpose built it with you guys in mind. There should be quite a few options but let me know if there is something specific I'm missing. Only the "Scout" version is fitted with an XL engine for now, although all would benefit greatly from an XL engine. While it will make them significantly more expensive, they will still be less than 4 mill each.

Also keep in mind that being a VTOL pilot requires a firm understanding of to-hit roll movement and range modifiers (this includes your movement, your enemies movement, and the range between you). If you don't understand this game mechanic, I suggest you read up on it:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fnl62j81i6q97br/Ee62B1QsZB

If you don't get good at avoiding damage when it can be avoided, you WILL die. If you thought Aerospace were hard, VTOLs are not really any better (the movement is easier to understand though). Make no mistake, VTOLs are NOT easy mode. There are very real consequences to running out of mechs/fighters/VTOLS/etc. If you break one, we can't just buy a new one. We can only use whatever hardware we can fit in a DropShip. We can bring spare VTOLs, but that is precious cargo space we can't devote to spare parts and ammo so you will have to be careful. Supply shipments take a minimum of one month and that is assuming we are in a position to receive them. Do not think I will not hesitate to give you a rifle and a motorcycle if you break all your toys

To everyone: just keep in mind while it is okay to do it right now, I don't want people to think this will be a normal thing. As our characters develop, I would rather see experienced characters cross-training as opposed to starting over if a player wants to switch things up.

 

You don't have to have the rocket launchers. It was just one option. The beauty of the rocket launchers is that they only weigh .5 tons. Which means you can pack a shitload of them on. Which means you wait for the right moment and then unload 40-80+ damage to some assault mechs rear armor. THAT is what you call a game changing move. As I said earlier, I will be updating them with something with a bit more stamina too.

-EDIT- Apparently I failed to make mention of the other designs in the works. My bad. Will have those updated soon.

 

That's something I could get behind. You sir, are a genius.

 

I see your point, Hordac. That whole "not missing" thing is a huge factor in rockets being effective. Typically I wait to use them until I'm damn sure every single one will hit. That usually involves trying to catch someone with their back turned, but often it also forces me to get in really close. Big risk, big rewards kind of deal. I will take a look at your design later tonight when I'm off. A PPC & LRM combo is a good choice too, perfect for troll/kiting slower mechs and tanks

 

I'm leaning towards making the Aeron the one very very very very rare exception. Vanilla VTOLs are frankly way too easy to kill in my opinion. Even hovercraft (which are notoriously fragile) can take far more damage before being disabled. The Aeron seemed like the natural choice for a more resilient VTOL because it has the armored cowlings. The fact that it is a Jihad design is just coincidence. If there was ANY Star League design that appeared similar, I would have picked it. Generally speaking, the VTOL artistic designs just plain suck aesthetically in Battletech. Also, I am simply appalled that it took as long as the Jihad era before a true "armored VTOL" was introduced and even then it still had the same stats as a regular VTOL. Ultimately, I feel the game designers just really dropped the ball on VTOLs. We have J-35Bs amd Harriers now that are more advanced than anything VTOL related in Battletech. I know that comparison is a slippery slope, but I aim to balance that in some way meaningful.

The canon fluff of the Aeron already mentions it was purpose built to improve the resilience of the fragile rotors, I simply followed through on this idea. I simply redistributed armor from the body to the rotor area since technically, it is "inside" the vehicle. The rotor did have 10 hp, but I've since reduced it to 6. If it still needs balance, I may reduce it to 4 or add on an artificial weight cost. Another way of balancing it may be to justify it as a Star League tech only design, which would make sense; if anyone could create such a design, the Star League certainly would be capable of it.

Technically, the rocket launchers weren't introduced until 3067. Seeing how they are suppose to be "cheap but inferior technology", why they never existed before is just stupid. You would think that with the way the succession wars were going, dumb fire single shot launchers would have been common. Forget about those one shot SRM/LRM launchers; they are WAAY to heavy for what they accomplish. The sad truth of the matter is that game designers never bothered to balance one shot weapons until way after the fact.

I'm still in the middle of testing it currently and welcome input.