Okay our last OOC thread has met the 1k post so i am starting the next one now.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 1):

Yay new thread!

*Starts nesting*

Ok everyone. Finish up your nights post and then report to pt in the morning. Wraith remember lt. Cherkovski wants a minute of your time.

Haha MA mission for normal people; yaya! vacation!
MA mission for augments: WTF? This is the hardest thing ever asked of me. I think it is impossible and unreasonable!

;)

Lol. Well yea. But we got a whole bunch of people who can help them along.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 5):

Mirage is a remarkably "Cultured" Zentradi.

I think she was referring to Thirteen,  Skyrah and Michelle. The generically engineered children. Though michelle has had more freedoms then most so she is not as culture shock such as thirteen.

Yeah, Zents, even special NERV program ones, would only be affected that way if they were truly new clones, having had no exposure whatsoever to alien culture or civilian life.

In reply to Cerise (msg # 8):

I was offering her as "Help"  =)

well  they may need help. so get in there and give them a hand.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 10):

Roger that.

In reply to Mirage Fallyna (msg # 11):

Skyrah is actually fairly cultured. Nick and Cerise is slowly figuring that out. Cerise by the hints Skyrah has given about her music, and Nick and the Commander via Skyrah's art and Music. And Nick via talking to Skyrah and her bringing up thing's she's read. The rest of the group though? Not so much. Skyrah has a habit of hiding or suppressing her emotions so she can easily give off the impression of being uncultured. So....this will be interested. And the part that will be even more funny about it all, is Skyrah will show up in uniform, she has no civilian clothes. NEver baught any. She views leave on the MA as if it were the station on Starship Troopers that they had leave on. Still a military facility so military clothes. lol

In reply to Skyrah Valentine (msg # 12):

Mirage plays the guitar... tried to start a PM thread, but Skyrah can't miss it.  You want to do a "Roommates meet" thread?

It seems to me that Skyrah is cultured in the sense that she has been exposed to, and even participates in, the arts; a sort of intellectual or academic culturization, whereas the type that would actually make this particular mission easy is more being inculcated into civilian (or at least non-regimented) society. It really doesn't seem that is where Skyrah is at, especially given that she's showing up to vacation in uniform. ;)
Michelle seems the best at that sort of thing, and Thirteen the worst (since he has no memories of doing anything even remotely like that; it isn't part of his training). Still, I suspect letting her hair down, being vulnerable, letting others in are all a pretty big ask from Skyrah; to some extent or another, all that comes naturally to someone who grew up a civilian (like most everyone), or has spent lots of time around civilians (like Korvan, and any other normal Zents).

Of course I could be totally wrong about how you see Skyrah, and she is your character, after all. Either way, it should be interesting!

In reply to Cerise (msg # 14):

@ Mirage

Tried to start a PM thread when? I might of missed it, or was it one I replied to? Sometimes the little indicator that lights up for PM's doesn't for me. I clicked it one day and saw three PM's that were new sitting there and the link had never indicated I had any. :(

As to a a 'roommates meet' thread we can do that. If you do it the night they were all drinking Skyrah is vulnerable, and open. You are liable to get the truth from her, along with emotions. Which would show her true feeling's towards what she is saying. If you wait until the next day she'll be back to her cold calculating self who never smiles and surpresses her emotions.

@ Cerise

Actually, you are very nearly spot on with how I want others to see Skyrah from the outside. On the inside, and in her past, she is very cultured. But getting her to admit it, is hard. I did have Skyrah give Mirage a hint of a way to find out more about Skyrah, by having Skyrah tell her that she could look in her sketchbooks and the numbers one's were a pictorial diary.

Still though, getting her to open up on this trip will be interesting! :)

well the difference is Michelle has had six years away from NERV. But she still struggles.

 Thirteen has no memory past a month.

 I think Cerise's observation is a good conclusion.

  @ Skyrah - it was when they took you to your quarters. I think its been two real life days.

  @ Mirage - or you could find she challages you ;p

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 16):

I agree Gargoyle. Like I said Cerise has gotten the outward impression I am aiming for with Skyrah. So thats awesome. To be honest the Commander has started to see Skyrah differently, or seemed to. hehe Fun times!

Lol
  The commander is different to all others. As he has been watching over all the GEK for the past 6 years.

Skyrah has a nosy 'normal' roommate.  Please don't post like she won't try to change what you do!  =P

She's going to want to get that girl in civvies.  Mirage considers the Officer's lounge uniform territory, but when she is ordered into civvies...

In reply to Mirage Fallyna (msg # 19):

I actually expect that to happen, but at the same time I did miss a lot of posting and we were only allowed one post to move along so I was playing catch up. Don't worry, Skyrah will let Mirage dress her, a bit begrudgingly.

In reply to Skyrah Valentine (msg # 20):

Awwwwww!  So cute!

lol

Classic case of Yesterday's Tomorrows.

well they have returned to active duty. and should have been kept.

I'd just remembered the phrase.

i think i have figured out why players prefer interacting with npc. :)

you have? please do tell

slower post rate of others has the faster poster interacting more with npc.

that makes sense

yea, because you could have replied to mirage in game, instead of here. just saying

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 30):

That's probably it.

id say its almost guaranteed, much like i know when the players are most active.

I don't think it's wholly that. Different posting times can have an affect on that too. My schedule fluctuates because I now work in the service industry. Namely I manage a Domino's. Don't need much more than that and honestly I do that to get out of the house and to interact with my fellow humans. Still though that makes my schedule erratic. I'll work some day's, some mids, and some closes. So as you can see, the beginning of the week I post faster then the end because the beginning is where I work my days, and I can be here when most of you are. The end of the week though, not so fast because I work my closes and I get home in the wee hours.

In reply to Skyrah Valentine (msg # 33):

I was an assistant manager at a Dominoes franchise at one time.  I feel you.

  Maybe,

Yeah, last night I got a royal screwing. My insider called off, and both of my closing drivers called off. I had to keep our opening driver until almost 8pm, and the opening manager stayed til like 7pm. I had to called in one of the new drivers, who never worked a close before to work a 7 to close, and he couldn't even stay to help with a full close. Needless to say I was there by myself cleaning the store until 530am. :( While SICK! I walked into work with the look of death, as if death himself was hanging over me going 'this one is mine tonight, I feel it!'

to bad it does not pay well.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 37):

Actually I'm getting about $600 a week, but thats because as part of my promotion I was offered to be allowed to drive on Friday's and Saturday's. And while out driving I still make my manager's rate.

As a driver I was making about $400 to $500 a week.

yea i need to make 2500 take home a month or i cannot afford the boat i want.

Crap, for some reason I didn't notice that Silas is Tirolian until just now. :P

Well that just makes me sad.

Also: Xavier, perfect guy shopping! "Try these one; if they fit, then praise the Lord, we're done. Otherwise, the suffering continues." :D

Well, the way you were introduced to us ground pounders meant that your individual characteristics took a back seat to trying to smooth over the ruffled feathers! At least for me. ;)

Xavier and Silas player is doing what all the girls players are doing. Playing opposite gender. lol it is interesting to see how this is playing out.


  But that is why everyone has a character description the others can read.

 Just read the game thread. RMAO lol

That is what I was commenting on. :)

 I know from first hand experience.

  Yea I figured that out.

 AWOL until sunday.

In reply to Kaarle Cherkovski (msg # 49):

This morning is all I will be posting until Sunday.

Omg, you guys are not allowed to have a life oursite of gaming. Lol.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 51):

Welp, I got my posts off since I got home from work a bit ago. Did some character work. Now I go bed. Yup!

I WAS gaming!

First was Mage LARP, then I was running my Legend of the 5 Rings tabletop game!

 I have not larped in a long time. Though don't tell the SCA i called it LARP, they get butt hurt. lol

  Nice on table top. I was gonna go down to the local gaming store and look for player, but found all the players here were waiting and came back to this group.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 54):

Don't get to do table top myself anymore, just not enough time in the day or motivation.

Last LARP I did was a firefly airsoft LARP which was fun but the group fizzled out after winter break.

I keep seeing a bunch of apocalypse air soft LARPs that I've thought of trying but again no time...

SCA the kind of LARPing you do when your to embarrassed to admit you like to LARP on the weekends...

I fully understand this feeling. I do not even do warhammer anymore.



That sounds like fun. I loved that series.



Cool Cosplay potential here.



  lol (sarcastic tone) yea they do not wear costumes, that wear garb. They do not represent the dark age as it was but how it should have been. And we are not larpers we are reenactors. who do not show how it was, but how it should have been. lol

  As long as they bought the weapons I forged I was happy to dress up and party at night. I did not like their games fighting rules.

The SCA is an odd duck.

I'm in Mind's Eye Society, which can be pretty odd too.

We have a local LARP that is better, once a month, in good weather.

Money.. we have it and it is tracked??

Most barracks soldiers have extra money.

Do the officers get better food, but have to pay for it?  Like eating in the ward room?

In reply to Mirage Fallyna (msg # 58):


  Yes there is a monthly payday, credits are Deposited into your accounts. Non flag and command officers are given the same meals selection in the mess as enlisted. You can buy better food in the Officers lounge, or you can take a day trip to the MA and you can buy stuff there including food, drinks. The Officers lounge charges and does offers you a place to buy food not served in the mess. so does the enlisted lounge.

  You can find your credits on your character sheets.

I got my money situation straightened out!


Cool, I guess because it is considered combat footing free chow for officers.  In garrison I have seen officers have to pay for the same food us enlisted pukes got for free.

that would suck in my opinion

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 61):

In garrison anyone that has what is called BAH/BAQ, IE lives of post or in on post housting (not the barracks), is supposed to pay for their food. Thats Military Regulation. Now, in most cases it's hard to tell which enlisted soldiers live in the barracks or out, so only officer's and senior enlisted paid.

On naval vessels enlisted and officers rarely ate together as there are on most US naval ships two messes, an officers mess and an enlisted mess. I am not sure how paying worked when out to sea, and never thought to ask my cousin who served on a naval ship.

Yeah, you rarely saw them doing it for the lousy chow.  Our post dining facility was a pretty damn good place to eat when I was in Germany, and pretty good stateside if you went to the right one.  No complaints.  Field food.. well.. was field food.  The officers didn't pay a LOT for the food anyway, but they do get paid considerably more than we did.  I think this is to encourage them to eat separate from the troops.

I concur with "Skyrah", btw.

 Well in all the sci fi stuff they eat together except for command officers. Which is how i have been running this game. But dam. see this is why i needed a full time navy advisor. lol

but i have set it so officers can go to the officers lounge and order food which they can buy which is higher quality.

You are stuck with a couple Army pukes.  I have navy friends though, that I can ask.  Gamers even, so they understand research.

I would have pilots eating separate from maintenance crews and such.. well, and maybe not.  *shrug*

The O-Club is a nice option.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 65):

Heh, in every game I have ever ran, I always have said 'Whatever works for the game'. I say keep it like the anime, mostly.

As a side note, I have no idea how much money Skyrah has now. I don't think I've updated it in awhile, though I know she's not spent any since joining the game. HEr character sheet has a decent amount on it though.

well the gambit is modified from the standard Chimera class. despite it being the second of its class off the assembly line.


   I have friends in the navy. I am just not able to visit them as much and unless something vital comes up, i rarely think about it. I kinda just have everyone separate themselves in the mess on their own. friends and co worker mentality. why would you eat with someone you have nothing to chat about. Unless its the only spot open to you.


  As for your pay. I updated it while you were all on mission. I just do it because i have to factor combat pay and hazard pay as well. so its all up to date until you made these purchases.

  Joker bought your drinks and Mirages Dinner last night.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 68):

Mirage didn't have money noted until I put it in, with a little research on pay rates.

Ah, so then the amount on my character sheet is right then! Sweet.

I don't think Skyrah paid for her stuff yet.

I was waiting to find out what skyrah was purchasing to give a price.


 Well starting pay should be on each OCC with a random out come since things can happen while in the various MOS training school.

  The GEK have only just begun receiving funds since they were assigned to the Gambit and its mission.

I got it from the wiki, base pay, and the sheet said start with 3 months pay.  I am a bad person to leave multiple references with.

If you feel you need to change it, change it.

nope, i have forgotten the base pay on the character sheets. that is the one to go with

3000th post, at least according to the count rpol gives me. ;)

congrats Cerise 3k.

Sorry I have not posted in a couple days, I've been helping the roommate with doing research and setting some things up.

Everyone - ok, first apologies everyone. I have been busy these last few days as i am setting up a bunch of stuff for a travel youtube channel. And yes thank you Silas i know i have been making you work hard.

  And i have been looking for a new job for the reminder of winter.

  Now finish up in the MA thread and return to the Gambit. You only have about ten hours before you have to report for duty. I am giving everyone a couple short days to post in the Gambit thread because i want to give Karma and the others a post to interact. Silas and Karma, if you want a long conversation that take a hundred post, please do so in private messages.

  Like wise when Kaarle returns to Gambit he will instantly be informed of Karma's release and is cleared for duty. She is in her quarters if you want to find her.

  ok wargames is not yet cleared to go. so do not post there till its time. but if you have questions please feel free to ask them here.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 77):

Good luck with that, 30 mins of 1080p HD video will net you a 3 gig upload. My net isn't slow, but it'll take it a good chunk out of a day to get those through.

What were you planning to upload?

Also, Martial arts class. Is that going to happen at a later date or was it the same day?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:24, Mon 06 Feb 2017.

In reply to Miriana Thakun (msg # 78):

  I am working on my Travel Stuff (blog and youtube channel). I am planning a long term travel and I want to document it. We did get the first video posted but its is so horrible its funny. But its up and likely gonna get replaced.


  Martial Arts classes? I am assuming you mean on the Marcus Antonius, its an in game back story. something for your characters to do, with occasional use in the in-between game missions. Michelle took belly dancing because she likes to be seductive and she sees her body as a work of art where Skyrah draws and plays a flute. Several characters spend lots of time in the gym. And i may reward these actions as we go. Also if you practice a skill constantly and its in the story as being actively proactive in the practice I will likely let you learn the skill at base level. But it take time and practice. Dancing.


  Martial arts classes will no effect on players with hand to hand expert or higher. Until you have been doing it for several years. but its an ingame activity. You can also join some of the clubs on the Gambit where various marines and naval personnel get together.

Well, Miriana has higher, but she did it to familiarize herself with Micronian fighting styles to complement her own... Or at least devise a series of countermoves to them.

Everyone -
  Okay everyone. Thursday will be the beginning of the wargames thread. Bring all discussions and activities to a close.

  Thank you

ok everyone finish up all the other threads and begin posting there. This is 13 days after the first planet landing and simulator. do a quick summery for the two weeks. beyond mission.

Hey guys, quick heads up but i'll be replying tomorrow, some stuff at work ended up with me getting home at like 8:30 pm and i need to wake up early tomorrow :/

In reply to Miriana Thakun (msg # 83):

Awesome, thanks rPol for gliching on me during my moment of limited time. I'll now not be able to get a reply out to Cerise until after work tonight. I might try to post on my phone, but it get's tediously difficult, and I may well be to busy. No idea. Sorry about this guys.

Oh, that's why, haha

Yeah I lost time to the glitch too

In reply to Mirage Fallyna (msg # 86):

Yea. It sucked. Upset me a lot, then I had a stupid day at work which only incensed me more. I literally got home about 30 minutes ago, wrote a huge PM to Kaarle, Cerise, and Gargoyle which likely will not be viewed well, and am about to go to bed. Yes, only to start this again tomorrow at 11:30 my time (5 hours) because my oldest has a jazz band thing, and then I get to go to work right after and close so likely won't be home until 4 or 5am Sunday morning. This has gotten so silly at my work.

Which is why I got so upset about that stupid glitch.

Thank god I'm off Sunday. I'm turning my cell phone off, and will not answer it for anyone. Not even the pope. Gonna sleep in, hop online, and post all day to my games on here. As long as rPol cooperates. lol

Sorry for being absent, I should be able to post again now.

EVERYONE

  ok everyone As it was just pointed out to me and i finally have a few minutes to address them.


  When I post in game, something like summarize and get your characters to this point in the time frame it means i am getting ready to close the other threads and get a move on to the next mission. So finish those conversations or move them to private thread until i shut that down as well. Mostly because i need the game to move forward. this is not a request and it does not mean you have to rush past. Such as I did when posting for Michelle. I had her summarize her two weeks and then I moved her forward because she understood her mission objectives.




  Here I brought her up to date over the two weeks in a quick summery. I did not need to go over detail. but i have her stating she is doing research on a project, Here you could be learning how to belly dance too. and it puts it into the game that you have committed time to this study.



 Here she has moved to the present, and had a quick chat with Kaarle.  before she moved forward. She did not stop and wait for the other player to replay, as we have several super fast posters and some who's post rates are less so and then we have those who fluctuate further in the in between.



  And here she is saying she has no questions And is ready to move forward in the game. And she does so.

  Now if this was your character you have asked LCDR Fell a question you had wanted, And guess what, This puts Michelle back at that meeting. which she could then ask a question if she had one. If not then she would continue on with what has already been posted. if she did then she would now have to change her posting in a updating new post. Do not go back and alter a post. And this is why everyone should try and read eveery post. I know thats not always easy. but you miss the little details.

  If you have questions or do not understand something you need to ask. I cannot read minds.  And i want everyone to have fun. but i have limits as well. There is no hard feelings if someone finds they would rather play a different game. And i will delete someone from the game if a player became a problem. And no, no one is being a problem, but it has happen and i will not allow it again.


  Now for how the military works here, Yes i do use a lot of real world military practices, but here in robotech the universe is a vast place and there has to be some give from the real world. Like in the New BSG series, I have some changes, for example I do not have a problem with PCs having relationships which would not be okay in the real military. Also since i am trying to reply to a lot of things here in the game i cannot always remember every little detail. And it is important for players to ask questions. Also unless you say your paying extra attention to an npc in passing, i will not go into great details on them.


  Now lets get the questions on this topic dealt with. ask away.

shake shake shake
shake shake shake
shake your boogie
shake your boogie

In reply to Mirage Fallyna (msg # 90):

Sorry for not posting for a couple days. I been pretty sick. I will get a post out to you all tomorrow before I head to work, now that I am feeling better. I just wanted to let everyone know whats up, and to expect it tomorrow.

I almost always get sick this time of year. Sometimes I hate Indiana's bi-polar weather. lol, it's got more mood swings then a...um...you all fill in the blank. :)

Again, sorry all. Now to go back to sleep to finish killing off this bug.

It has more mood swings then a tomato.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 92):

LOL! No idea why I find that funny, as it makes no sense to me or I just don't get the reference, but I do find it funny!

I'm all for having PCs do the action stuff, but aren't several of Banshee in mecha that have no way whatsoever to conceal their protoculture unless they are shut down? (Xavier and Sillia at least)?

In game, how would we work around that?

In reply to Cerise (msg # 94):

everyone in Banshee squad has the same issue, non of their mecha is gonna avoid pc sensor. Sillia has no choice but to remain in her mecha same would be true for Xavier as neither have modified CVR body armor.

 But they are marines with skills and we see in the series where the group move about invid occupied territory and use mecha.


  Sorry guys was off for the weekend.

I would argue that anyone with a cyclone does not have the same issue; they can move about in cycle form using gasoline without the issues.

Still, if stealth or something can be used to minimize signature or something, I'm all for it.

In reply to Cerise (msg # 96):

I thought the Cyclones also used Reaction drives?

In reply to Mirage Fallyna (msg # 97):

Cyclones use protoculture. When not using protoculture they actually use battery power, not gasoline, as per the book. The issue with running on batteries however is speed is reduced, as well as sensors. Do not quote me on the sensors though.

I think speed is reduced and virtually everything else doesn't work. I know they can't fire weapons (at least most weapons) when on battery power. But they can move about, which is a lot better than not moving about.

BTW, I thought at one time, the GM had said that all big mecha (such as Xavier's Spartan Destroid) had cloaking devices retrofitted? If so that will help, at least to hide the gigantic mecha that dwarfs even the HK biodroids in the group.

Great memory Cerise, i forgot that i had said that. Yes ill grant large destriods cloak.

  Cyclones and hks all have the same problem.

  But even when cloaked, invid can still see movement. So its not a cure all end all. And there are patrols. Your gonna have to decide the level of risk your gonna take and run with it.

Visual range is a lot shorter than, for example, radar range. I'm not sure what kind of range the invid protoculture sensors have (and I'm not going to look them up unless Cerise would have access to that info), but I suspect that it is longer than visual, and, if it can be blocked, probably is not blocked by the same things that block visual detection.

I'm certain that the stealthy type characters would have been trained in whatever techniques are available for reducing protoculture signature. I just don't know (as a player, and probably not as a character) what those techniques would be, beyond moving on battery and standard radiation theory (inverse square law). If UEEF knows enough about it, then factors like time and shielding could also be taken into account. Possibly even stuff like destructive interference or creating phantom signals as a distraction, but that stuff would require a pretty in-depth understanding of how the protoculture sensors work.

Luckily it doesn't fall to me to determine precise marching orders; Miriana gets that problem to overcome! ;)

  Sgt. Korvan is well versed in combating the Invid. So Miriana look to him. And part of the units ability is to work as a team. What one member lacks the others make up. Example, Sillia is a sniper who sits in over watch and covers the surrounding area. She watches for eenemy units as well as other dangers. Work as a unit.

Wait, but aren't Invid the size of mecha as it is? Without protoculture cloaking, wouldn't that mean that going up against one with a 2d6 MD rifle would be futile?

Presumably, if it came time for combat, your first action would be to turn on the protoculture stuff for the fight. Also, I think you can shoot hem in the "eye" and kill them quicker/easier, even in the RPG (I know they did in the show).

  Sorry for not posting, my father was in the hospital and i had to do administrator stuff. The delights of elderly parents.

  At any rate, I will post and move this game forward. Cerise, if you have any last orders to give the command squad do it tomorrow (Friday) please.

In reply to Cerise (msg # 104):

My guess is i'd have it switched off regardless, as having it turned on would probably be the reason we'd be getting attacked in the first place. Invid are blind to anything that doesn't use protoculture, it may as well be rocks and trees to them.

I don't think they are literally blind to anything non-protoculture; they have a normal visual range, its just that in modern combat if it is within visual range you're already so close compared to your weapons' range that you might as well have been blind.

So, for example, if you happen across an Invid patrol and almost literally bump into them, even if you've got no protoculture, they will still see you and take action. I assume that this war game works that way as well; the OpFor probably only has protoculture sensors (or something to simulate them) and otherwise must rely on visual identification only; no radar, thermo, etc.

the invid will see you regardless of protoculture use. The lower caste, rank units are not intelligent enough to always see the danger in a cyclone that is laying on its side or kick stand versus the one being ridden across the landscape. The higher caste can tell the difference. And I run the NPCs according to their abilities. SO the danger is there either way you go. But sensors have limits, including the PC sensor the Invid are so reliant on which is why Sillia is not being shot at right now. Like Miriana, she is dependent on the HK units since she cannot wear CVR armor. So she is running on the most minimal systems to stay alive and do her job.

  If a creature show any hostility to the Invid or a protected territory they will be killed instantly with no regard to intention. Damaging the flower of life, same thing. causally walking about. likely to be ignored unless you get to close to the restricted zone. why the humans can live in villages on earth. They are not doing anything to show aggression to the Invid.

  All marines and combat personnel will have basic combat training. They will understand that these things and will do their best to avoid it. The human/Sentinels understanding has grown a lot over the last couple of years of fighting with the Invid Regents forces. And more common sense which is missing in the kid show.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 108):

Sorry for the late reply, we had some serious stuff happen at work this weekend mixing in with my daughters Jazz band competition. Things are back on track now, hopefully.

Its all good, was waiting for command to get done with thier meeting.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 108):

So assuming 'running on minimal systems' doesn't mean 'having all sensors switched on, thrusters cranked up to eleventy and being fully operational', what can and what can i not do under this reduced power output?

Sillia is only running with life support. Your not reallt gonna have much out put. Basic movement and life support.

Thought as much...

So that pretty much narrows it down in terms of scouting, right?

It means your team is gonna have to be very careful in its movements. Because cyclonea are not gonna be able to move through the jungle like enviorment in bike mode.

If one of the larger mechs is willing to carry my Cyclone I can scout ahead of the main team on foot.

Jungles are pretty problematic on foot as well, haha. On the bright side, they should not actually be all that conducive to the burying technique, since any area where a mecha buried itself would be pretty obvious unless they had done so months prior. Of course that is not to say that they couldn't use a tunneling approach. Best way to detect that (short of ground penetrating radar/sonar which I highly doubt any of our mechs has) is audio sensors/ears.

Of course aerial recon will be able to map out the areas of higher and lower vegetation, any areas that have trails (caused by relatively heavy traffic), and any points of interest that aren't overgrown, even from barely sub-orbital altitudes. That would at least tell you where you could possibly run your cycles more quickly (even though the chance of encounter would be higher).

That being said, I do know that you don't need much better of a trail for an offroad motorcycle to run on than a human to be able to walk on; as long as there are no abrupt climbs (aka cliffs or downed trees) almost anything is doable. People in the Philippines (and other countries, I'm sure) ride 5 and 6 to a 100cc 2-stroke dirt bike through trails that are not even reasonably passable by a water buffalo (carabao). Basically everyone who's successfully cross the Darién Gap (with a vehicle) has done it with some sort of cycle; of course they ride for parts of it on canoes/riverboats to get across some of the rivers. If you can find a game trail and are willing to take quite a bit of branch rash (probably not a huge problem in MDC armor), you can probably get your bike through, especially if you occasionally have the option of changing into a robot who can jet jump. ;)

The bigger mecha, though (including Cerise's silverback if she were with you) are probably going to be a problem; they'll have to power up the protoculture to have the brute force to get through the jungle and they'll be load and attractive whenever they move, unless of course someone takes the time to manually clear a path for them as they go.

yes jungles are nasty places, even on foot. so be aware. mahahahaha.

I know, I lived 3 hours from a tropical rain forest. Tough moving around in there! Fortunately Thirteen is in much better shape than me. :)

Speaking of jungles and areas of higher and lower vegetation, clearly the main attack force will need some aerial deployment of agent orange across the area prior to their attack! :D

nothing says we are here like a clear path. ;)

Or big stompy robots knocking down trees. lol

  Mahahahaha..... the evil of jungle and woodlands

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 123):

Sorry for the lack of follow up, lots of stuff going on and on top of that fighting a cold and a headache.

Please feel free to NPC me if necessary to move the story otherwise I will update when I can.

Well it seems like your not the only one. So its not a stress at the moment. :(

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 125):

I am just kinda lost.

On which part so i can fix that.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 127):

As to what I should be doing.

Skill checks since your gathering intel about your enemy below. Invid are closing in on your position.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 129):

I'm feeling a lot better, sorry for the lack of follow ups should be good.

In reply to Kaarle Cherkovski (msg # 130):

Sorry for the lack of posts the last couple weeks. Thunderstorms tooks down my cable line which happens to be my ISP. I am back now and in full swing and will endevour to read through everything and get caught back up ASAP. Though, I'll be honest ATM I am as lost as the rest do to my absense.

cool. I would suggest everyone reread everything and bring their questions to bear so that we can continue without confusion.

  one confirmed airstrike away. Lunch those bombs and lets see how the dice roll. Mahahahahaha

 A tumble weed rolls across the screen with the slight breeze caught between all the posting activities.


   Ok, so It feels like something is not working. So what can be done to get the group active again?

I was waiting for you to post. Since Thirteen is following targets I can't really post more until the targets start moving. That is my situation anyway. :)

fair point Thirteen. I will get the marines moving.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 137):

Yep, and i was hanging back waiting for Thirteen to scout and report in, so it kind of snowballed from there ^^;

Sorry y'all, I've been busy, really busy two jobs, makes for a very tired person, I will catch up as soon as possible, if that is possible.

In reply to Silas Nightshade (msg # 139):

Comcast not having my entire region go down again would be nice. This time the outage was almost a week. Yay us.

Other then that I have limited use of my left arm, seems whatever is wrong is pinching a nerve and by the time I get off work (Or some days even just wake up) the entire thing is numb. The pain killer's help with the pain, but it's getting to the point where I cannot put off seeing the doctor anymore. Normally it eventually works itself out, but this time it hasn't.

I'll try to get better at my posting, despite the above. Thankfully I am right handed so that does help a bit. Still, it can be difficult doing much when your entire shoulder is in seering pain, and/or whole left arms numb as a result.

@ Skyrah, doctor.. not next week now. Your risking permanent damage.

Welcome Gerelt, you will be part of Banshee Squadron from Vulture team. Welcome to the game.

A new ground pounder... welcome! :)

In reply to Cerise (msg # 143):

Groovy.

Hell yea. Our ground team is starting to get some momentum.  :)

You're right. I seriously need to, part of my apprehension stems from the idea that they might make me take time off work which fiscally I cannot afford to do.

I'll make the call in the morning and get in ASAP.

its more then likely part of your car accident. i have no doubt you can make them pay if you have not already settled.

Hi everyone!  Sergeant Gerelt Ashtar, STORM Commandoes reporting for duty!

And welcome to the game Gerelt!

In reply to Miriana Thakun (msg # 149):

Welcome to the game!

Welcome!

Great!  When and where should I start posting?

They cannot answer that. Mahahahaha....

Hello Gerelt!

Attention all Pilots. I will be NPCing your characters tomorrow afternoon if you have not posted before me. :)

Do I require another post?

only if you are wanting to use any of your skills.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 157):

No-one seemed to do anything, so I didn't either.  We did a lot of skill rolling earlier and nothing happened.  Has anyone else rolled and not posted?

You and skyrah are recon pilots. If you teo do not roll skill checks then nothing happens.

  I have people roll for a reason. Sometimes it is to see if you spot something.  Other times its to make sure you do not crash. If you do not roll for sensors and equipment when checking radars , then you see nothing. Until the missiles hit you. This actually goes for everyone.

  It is noted in my xp log and you are awarded xp when you do so. I award skill use appropriately.  Pass or fail. And for the two who keep you rolls private, its ok if the others see.

There's a whole pile of skill checks for you. Hopefully at least some of them have a positive result! ;)

Lol.

  Thank you.

  I will post aa skill and xp post this afternoon after work. And explain in more detail. I forget we have a handful of new players.

BTW, 2 29s and 2 3s; I think I'm detecting a certain lack of randomness in the dice roller... I don't think we need cryptographically secure randomization, which can be difficult to write, but on most OSes it is pretty trivial to write an RNG that gets close enough for our purposes. I wonder why they didn't bother?

In reply to Cerise (msg # 162):

Random dice generators were one of the first programs I ever wrote.   I imagine the rng for this wasn't original to the site dev.  I mean why remake the wheel right?   I bet most of this site is recycled code.

I would think that they wouldn't use original code either, at least as much as possible... but that still doesn't explain why they have such a non-random RNG. :) It just means that they chose to use someone else's poor implementation as opposed to creating their own poor implementation. Either way, is isn't rocket surgery; for a site whose purpose is so heavily predicated on dice rolling, you'd think they'd want to make sure that their dice roller produced decent results.

Well I am thankful for the site. But i agree, i believe the site is using alot of recycled codes.

  But no one complains when its two 20s in a roll. Lol

When you're trying to low low on percentile (like here) 2 3s in a row is awesome.... and 2 29s in a row ain't bad either, haha. And yet, somehow, I still managed to complain :P.

Oh well, even a crappy RNG is better than nothing! :)

   I also want to point at a short barely descriptive post only gets you 5 xps, however when your post has the characters thoughts, and descriptive actions is gonna give you the extra points to advance your faster. 

  Here is the desired methods of posting I d like to see. Use whatever color you desire for your character's conversation.
Why the perception and just in case? well, if you are talking to someone and that person is gonna strike you with a sucker punch your perception check might allow you to see it, before the attacker. The Just in case can be used as a block, parry or whatever skill roll which was not put in but could save your character.

ok,

   So when your characters start a mecha, especially a veritech fighter, you should be rolling a Basic radio, sensors and equipment, weapons systems, and pilot whatever mecha you are operating. Now this is bare minimal but it should be noted you can and should use whatever you feel your character should do.


  I know when your in a non combat situation i let things slide, but remember, when you do not roll a skill check you leave it to me to decide if i want to have something happen or not. And if your in a combat situation it can go real bad for your PCs. So please roll; Skill Checks, Perception and Just In Case Rolls.

do any of you have the Dead reign game books on PDF?

I don't.

Nope...

Have never even heard of it

Its palladums zombie apoc game. But when i went to the site i normally go for game books, it was gone.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 174):

I have the Dead Reign books on PDF.

Also an update on my shoulder, doctor is not sure whats up yet, they got me scheduled for some tests then I see him again on the 25th. Right now they got me on muscle relaxer's and pain killers to help ease things a bit. Good thing, makes pain a dull roar, bad thing, when I take them I'm a bit higher then a kite and lathargic. So thats why I've not posted much.

I'm not leaving the game though, and I apreciatte everyone's patience on this. Hopefully I'll be able to post a bit more often now that the pains lessoned, but if I go to long without a post Gargoyle feel free to make one on my behalf.

Take good care of yourself Skyrah. Hope you get better soon!

I've got Dead Reign on PDF as well, i'm in a game that uses that system.

also, Skyrah, good work on getting that shoulder checked out :)

Sweet, how can i get the pdfs from one of you?

  Glad to hear your taking care of your shoulder skyrah. Dont worry, i wont let you die. Mahahaha...

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 178):

Well, i'll see what i can do.

Hey all, I'll post tomorrow okay?

Yep

Let me know when I can roll or post again.  =)

You can post asap.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 183):

Well I know we are on some kind of overwatch, but I don't know what to do with it honestly.

No, the veritech team was on a reconnaissance mission, to collect arial data of the enemy below. That is why the recon team from warlock squad is operating with your squad.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:57, Mon 08 May 2017.

Guess I missed the mark.  Any further rolls I can make since I muffed sensory?

Roll all that you think apply. If you can give the action in character a reason, id award more xp. :)

Post updated.

awesome

I know We have several Men who have served in the military, Just a quick thank you.

Let us give thanks to those who gave all for their countries, and remember their sacrifice.

Have a happy Memorial Day to all of those in the US!

In reply to Thirteen (msg # 192):

Here, here!

I totally missed that last line in that paragraph. Want me to change my last post to being back in the vulture?

No. With Your next one just go forward. :)

I'm sorry, I'm a little bit confused as to where I am, and where I'm supposed to be.  My squadron is hiding out on the outskirts of the enemy installation in this war game.  Is the faux enemy installation an Invid hive, and we have to destroy it?

I know it's supposed to be a fake Invid outpost, but from the looks of it I'm not sure whether we stumbled upon an actual one instead.

   Sorry about that, I do not think Miriana saw your post, to her. I recalled the two groups back to the Vulture (The groups Shuttle), so i can figure out who is still active. Several players are dealing with real life stuff and I do not want to NPC the entire cast through the mission. So i time lapsed it so everyone is back so i can move forward. But from here you will be with the group.


@ Miriana
  No its not a Invid base. everyone is wearing special visor right now. So the group sees the other humans as invid. Your combat computers are currently set for the war games.


  Everyone: I need a roll call. I need to know who is still active so i can plan this mission with Cerise. If you cannot post its ok, I know a couple are dealing with some intense things. but if you say your gonna post please post for this mission as i am running a lot of NPCs right now and would rather not move the entire player group.

  Thank you.

It is kinda implied by your post, but I am here and active. :)

Wait, Korvan has a surname?!

  after he assimilated into human culture he gave himself a surname to fit in better with humans.

  Most times I forget he did it. And just refer to him as korvan and if the fellow players do so, it is not a problem. When we were playing together MABG game on EU I only ever referred to him as Korvan.

>.>

Present.

Uhh... Mirage?

If you're talking to Gerelt, he's a guy. Might want to fix that ^^;

Or i could just be misinterpreting something, wouldn't be the first time it's happened.

Maybe Geralt is gender fluid? ;) Just kidding, I'm pretty sure he is meant to be a guy as well.

In reply to Cerise (msg # 204):

I was replying to this line from Gargoyle:

"Once you have gotten into the shuttles airlock you can safely remove your helmets. Both Miriana and Sillia are in their Power Armor as they are not wearing CVR underneath. A young Zentraedi girl almost dances over to the group with a wide smile. Specialist Yasan helps the in power armor secure their suits and disembark. asking if there are any issues with the mecha."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:31, Thu 08 June 2017.

Ah, that makes a lot more sense. :)

Ah, Kariza!

Sorry, New Player Syndrome. It's when a new player joins an existing group, they usually become the focus of all attention for a couple of posts :P

In reply to Miriana Thakun (msg # 207):

New toy!  Sad that the two Meltrandi don't hang out much!

Yeah, she's been with the UEFF for less than a year now, she sees socializing (and culture) as a 'human thing'.

She's got a VR game console with a copy of Perfect Night (a Virtual Interation Game) to basically train her social skills while having a 'Load Game' function if she messes up or wants to try something new, but she's still learning.

In reply to Miriana Thakun (msg # 209):

Mirage probably pings as human to her, I guess.

In reply to Mirage Fallyna (msg # 210):

Possible, she looks fairly human herself aside from the lack of a navel. Though she's 5 ft 2 and has never been a tall example of her race.

In reply to Miriana Thakun (msg # 211):

Never pondered the navel thing... doesn't the artificial womb connect somewhere, navel seems like the place to connect nutrients.

Zentraedi have no navels?

I have not found anything that says they do or dont, so in game. It's ruled as something in her clone line.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 213):

As I sit here pondering my navel...

Sadly there is nothing official I have seen on it. Some art has them some dont. But any natural born zentraedi will.

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 215):

Hmmmm now I need to decide if Mirage has a navel....

Did Miriya have a navel, I don't recall her ever being in anything that exposed her midriff in classic Macross.

I have a pic on my computer that has her with one. But the only time I think she is ever out of cloths is when she is micronized.

In reply to Mirage Fallyna (msg # 216):

Hmm... I'd say she does, because she was Micronized to be an infiltration agent. They'd try to resemble humans as much as possible, deliberately leaving something visible out would risk exposure. They pride their efficiency far too much to leave such an obvious flaw in there.

Natural born Zentraedi would have a navel too, and so would Macronized humans since they would naturally have one as well.

Those that were Micronized after the war... I'd say they got to choose since there's no real difference in having one or not. Miriana is proud to be Zentraedi (or Meltrandi in her case) and so she opted to not get a navel when she was due for Micronization, but the option would be there for those that want it. It'd be a cosmetic change though, similar to changing blue or green skin color to a more human range to promote integration.

That's the line of reasoning i went with though.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:22, Tue 13 June 2017.

Seeing as Gerelt was naturally born, he'd definitely have a navel.

I remember a show called "Space Above and Beyond" and in that show, there were artificial humans called "In Vitroes".

They had Navels - but they were located on the backs of their necks...That's where the umbilical cord was attached that connected them to the gestation chamber.

Dam, i have not seen that in years.

In reply to Severian (msg # 220):

Indeed, i remember that one. When i saw it it felt like they were going to a Battlestar Galactica feel, though i'd totally forgotten about it until you brought it up.

Mirage there is a single shower and you each are allotted 8 minutes of water use. your id is required.

What kind of ship is the Vulture?

In reply to Gerelt Ashtar (msg # 224):

Alright guys, I'm back, mostly. I'm not 100% but I'm not down either.

The shots they gave me in my shoulder were mostly ineffectual. I say mostly, because they did help 'some' but the help they gave wasn't substantial. The doctor figures I might have a tendonitis in my shoulder, however he's concerned considering the ineffectualness of the shot series. So we're heading into the next step, which is an MRI (to see what is damaged) and likely physical therapy or surgery (depending on which avenue is needed to fix the issue).

Me and Gargoyle have been chatting back and forth in PM's, and considering my situation has shifted from short term solution medically, to long term I'm coming back long term and will be posting considerably more often now.

Still though, I'll keep you all informed as I find out more on the issue on my shoulder. Sometimes I have to type one handed, which is interesting but now new to me.

Sorry to hear things have not been great health wise Skyrah. I hope the MRI gets some real answers and you get better soon.

In reply to Skyrah Valentine (msg # 226):

Yeah, if it was an infection the antibiotics would have helped, but since it's not doing much odds are it's something else. I'd say at this stage they're mostly focused on trying to figure out what it is before it can turn into something permanent.

Here's to hoping the MRI's going to show what it is.

Hey, I was wondering, what's the Language Unknown thing?  Is that Zentraedi?  Gerelt speaks Zentraedi.

Yeah they have been speaking in Zent; the GM probably just hasn't set you up for that correctly yet.

Gerelt, ill fix it tonight after i get done with real life errands

Sorry!

  And why would you be sorry Mirage?


  Gerelt, I fixed your languages and groups. you should be able to read all the text in Zentraedi now.

Being polite.  =)

I got back from the specialist and they said I have a definite impingement in my left shoulder. They scheduled me for 6 weeks of physical therapy, and now I have to get an Arthrogram MRI to see whats causing the impingement.

That sounds like it's gonna be unpleasant during treatment.  But ill bet it will be tons better afterwards

In reply to Gargoyle (msg # 236):

God I hope so. I'm tired of taking meds for it because they make it hard to work.

Just get it over with. Have them chop it off and have it replaced with an oversized mechanical arm. :)

In reply to Thirteen (msg # 238):

  with forearm missiles and wolverine type claws.

While they're in there anyway, might as well just do full conversion borg. I have it on good authority you could be immune to anything smaller than 50 cal. .338 Lapua? Nothing... just keep an eye out for anyone with a DEagle!

In reply to Cerise (msg # 240):

I already seem to be immune to falling from decent hieghts. Also immune to breaking any bones.

Anyway I'm dredding the idea of physical therapy and the arthrogram mri. It's all needed, but doesn't help the idea of dread I'm feeling.

I must have missed something.  Skyrah is no longer in wraith squad for the mission now?

If so I'll fix my original post...

Fuck...

I'll fix it shortly.

In reply to Kaarle Cherkovski (msg # 243):

Alright instead of editing I just went with it.

Still not sure how I fucked that up.  Mondays suck and Tuesday is looking to be even worse.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:48, Tue 27 June 2017.

Lol. I figured you put the wrong call sign.

  Remember no matter where you are,  your always here

Monday part 2, the revenge.

  Sequels are never as good as the original.

I will be NPCing those characters where the players are inactive so the squads are full as possible.

  Moved this to out of character thread. its a good question.

  No your combat computers are set for war-game mode and it requires a system lock for command (NPC to release them back to normal mode). Yes i know that is not in the shows. but computer science is more advance then in the 80s and the tech rivaled and surpasses ours in computers.

  the caves are real caves. the structures are manufactured structures.  your fighting fellow UEEF personnel which arrived with the two vessels carrying Aravae and Xavier. when they arrived and technically your character as well.

  your damage is recorded and measured by the combat computers. mecha will shut down on the battle field and become debris. Veritechs will return to designated landing spots as casualties. soldiers and cyclone riders will lay were they are killed.

Gotcha.  Good call to move this to the OOC thread.

In reply to Gerelt Ashtar (msg # 250):

well your character knew this.

Oops, forgot to keep posting! Both myself and Xavier are very sorry!

Cerise

  The Silverado can be attached to beta like lunks jeep, by cables

Yeah, like we did previously... but that might hamper the escape attempt, since I plan to link up with the Vulture. Not to mention what it'd do to the aerodynamics of the thing. Since it seems like a long shot to escape anyhow, I think having the fastest, most optimal chance seems like the best bet.

  the transport beta cannot transform. it gave up the components for space.
non of the cyclones or hunter power armor are invisible to protoculture sensors. I allowed them to power down to bare minimal usage to hide. but in the hive they will not be able to do this. I cannot remember if i said if the silver back is or not. but to be fair once your teams are found you will be visible to the invid. as they will still see you and know your not suppose to be in the hive. also the higher cast/science Invid can tell what you are.

  Yes striker is stealth, like the gladiator.

History: The Angels is a squad of kids ranging from 13 to 15, the squad leader is the son of Colonel Ikari, while he is reluctant to risk the lives of his team, he will gladly lay his down for them. This Squadron is classified and currently assigned to the NERV.

Commanding Officer: Sinji Ikari Age 14
Executive Officer: Rei Ayanami Age 14
Pilots:
03 Asuka Langley Soryu Age 14,
04 Toji Suzuhara Age 15, wears hair in gresser 50's style.
05 Mari Illustrious Makinami Age 16, she wears over sized glasses and generally wears her long brown in pony tails. She is foul-mouthed, constantly taunting her opponents in combat and gives people nicknames.
06 Kaworu Nagisa Age 16, he has a kinship which would appear to be romantic towards Sinji, however his love for Sinji is entirely different.
07 Kensuke Aida Age 14, wears glasses
08 Hikari Horaki age 14, Corpsman

Mecha:
Zentraedi Striker Battloid ZSB-Z4 (3) Yellow 00, Purple 01, Red 02
Micronian Bioroid MCB-02 (3) Black 04, Pink 05, White O6
Hunter Killer Power Armor (2) Green (Kensuke Aida), White with medical insignias in red. (Hikari Horaki)

Cyclones and Silverback both have backup non protoculture power supplies that allow them to move in vehicle mode; that is what I was referring to with them. The low power mode thing was extra super duper slow, if I recall. Cyclones and Silverback are slower, but still like conventional motorcycles and dune buggies.
And, yes I assumed that anything in visual range would still be aggressive, but at least we can limit engagement a bit until we get into the hive. I was thinking that might help us get down the tunnel with only random and light engagement, rather than a coordinated defense. Especially if I can manage to jam communications whenever we encounter some.

  Ah yes i forgot the vehicle mode. Ok before we begin i would appricate a very clear laid out plan. this way we all understand the plan. :)

I agree! It is already way too easy to get confused without confusion in the plan. I am hoping that the other active players will weigh in over here, at least, so that we can all feel like we're on board with the plan. IC Cerise knows that Skyrah is the tactician, so that's why she gave Skyrah the duty to pick her team; OOC, I hope it includes at least all of the PC ground ppl; Sillia is NPC so I don't feel too bad about leaving her to do decoy duty. If we decide to bring veritechs other than our get away ride, then I hope it will be Wraith. Though if we're doing that, then K'Chek can't lead up the distraction; it'll have to be Joker or Iron Fist. If we assume everyone is stripping to CVR for the get away, then that will allow us to take quite a few ppl. Technically Cerise can virtually not take a spot by transferring to a crystal when we make our get away, if one extra person is going to make a difference.

there is a chance in non wargame where cerise could get killed from an orbital bombardment as the crater will be huge. and the crystals gem stone may not be there. The Invid Queen is super intelligent.

  If you bring in both Kaarle and Skyrah, you will need to remain in command, and not defer it to one of them.

  I would leave the veritechs outside doing the most damage as possible. maybe even send them to the other side of the hive cluster opposite of the reinforcements try to lesson the foes they face.

 Sillia can ride in beta till you get to hive. but so you do remember there is a plant/life form and driving through that is untested. in fact its interaction is untested.

   in the end while the others input is good Cerise is in command and should exercise that.

I meant a crystal stowed on the alpha beta, for that purpose.

And, yeah, I assumed once we were going, I would be in command, even if Wraith doesn't come down, I am still ranking, but I can set objectives and let squad COs complete them. Macro manage rather than micro manage. But ooc I just want everyone to have their word so we're not doing something a player (as opposed to character) hates.

Oh, I guess that wouldn't work with the new description of crystal melding. Nvm that idea!

As a player I would love for it to include all the PC's. As Skyrah though, she thinks the lighter fighters would be better in the tunnels, and the heavier one's better above ground. Also, a some of Wraith also cannot escape into space. Kchek, Delta, and Skyrah had the only Delta Veritech's. Skyrah's going to try and keep Albatross, since Korvan is moving on. One heavy hitter traded for another.

I thought Deltas could go orbital? Anyhow, as far as that goes, if deltas can't go orbital, then bringing any veritechs without betas is the same liability; no escape. In this case, where there's a single objective and no other Invid presence, that may be ok, but this is meant to be a wargame simulating an attack on Earth; escaping to surroundings just means going into more enemy controlled areas. In effect, planning to do that is planning to fight a continuous battle without resupply. That's why I had my emphasis on everyone joining up with a shuttle to get back to the fleet as the evac plan.

Just looked it up: "Engaging the thrusters will rocket Alpha to Mach 4.8 enough to escape earth Atmosphere." Dunno why it says Alpha, but that is from the Delta description. :) They can get to space on their own. I would be concerned, however, that they are not likely to be able to do so (or fly in space) as well as the shuttles, so it is still best for evac if everyone can get on a shuttle. Given that that seems to be somewhat a challenge, though, the next best thing would be to have deltas and alpha-betas on the infiltration. Still, though, all of Angel is stealth-able, as is Xavier (on Banshee) in his Gladiator, plus a load of cyclones; that is quite a bit of firepower. Granted it would mean abandoning all the mecha, but it seems like a very good chance of escape, given the circumstances; especially if some Invid smarts get involved; why worry about a single fleeing alpha-beta when you know that a whole group of cyclones and big mecha have invaded the base; just get all hands to converge to take the big mechs out. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Severian may even be able to make the alpha-beta invisible (assuming he's going in).

Of course the down side to only taking ground mechs and abandoning that many mecha is that if they ARE forced to try to blend in and lay low, they aren't going to have good equipment for fighting. But, then, that is kind of an all-is-lost scenario... in which case we may be better off just truly blending in; only Severian and I would have any difficulties there, and we both have natural capabilities to fall back on.

DElta's can go orbital. Alpha's cannot. Wraith squadron is not all Delta's however. At this time only two of thier pilots have a Delta, Kchek and Delta. The rest all have Alpha's which cannot go orbital. Which means only about 50% of the squadron could use that tactic to escape. Also, escaping to the fleet could turn out to be moot. Remember, two fleets were already completely destroyed trying to assault Reflex Point. There is a reason Skyrah has been down, thats why. A direct assault has failed twice, and they are trying it a third time.

Also, the reason the description in the Delta says Alpha is because the Delta is basically a suped up version of the Alpha. It requires the same skills, same specializations, etc to pilot. Again, only DElta's can get to space on thier own, Wraith squadron is not all Delta's fighters.

Taking the Delta's inside the base would not be wise because they are larger then Alpha's and already have enough maneuverability issue's as it is. They are better served out attacking the stalk because the two we still have can do hit and run assaults from space against it while the couple of Alpha's that Wraith has can provide support for Angel.

When doing infiltration you don't want big and bulky (Delta's) you want light and agile (Alpha's). The same idea is used in Infantry tactics today. You wouldn't use heavy infantry for an infiltration, you would use light infantry for it because they can duck and easier, or run if needed.

You can put the final plan to the players or. Wildstar is in competition for command, he will not argue. And it should be clear that his subordinates are following his lead.

Oh, I thought all of them flew Deltas except Michelle (who has a beta attached... the beta attached). Who all is active in wraith? If it is only 1 other besides those 3, and they aren't a GEK, then they could use your Delta for this op, especially since it has come down from on high that you are confined to cyclone.

Light and agile better describes the ground mecha than any veritech; that is an argument for bringing all the ground forces (except the HKs, bearing in midn the limit on how many bodies we can shuttle out in the beta) and letting the veritechs do the distraction.

Furthermore, I don't think there's any mechanical difference as far as "this is too tight quarters for a Delta." Nor, probably, should there be; in battleoid, the difference is only about a foot and a half in height, and the wingspans in the other modes are the same. Deltas just aren't that much bigger. To me it seems like, if we bring veritechs, it makes the most sense to bring the Wraith ones, perhaps switching someone to use Albatross rather than an alpha.

I guess I'm wondering: is Karma Muphy with us? And what kind of veritech does Silas Nightshade use? I think they are the only other two Wraith, and neither has equipment listed in the equipment thread. It is worth noting that neither are GEKs, so one of them COULD use Albatross; obviously both couldn't, though.

And I think Silia is the only oen listed with HK, at least in Banshee, so she's the only one who really can't go down the hole, if we're taking a stealthy movement approach. Though, perhaps, the stealthy approach may fall apart due to slowness if we have to rely on the big bots leveling the pathway enough for the smaller vehicle-mode-only types to roll through.

By the way, I looked it up; the shuttles top speed moves them almost twice as fast as a Delta... so I'm right that that is the better way to get out of atmo. As an added bonus, they can also get us to another planet, should things go totally sideways with the fleet. Of course we could flee and rendezvous with them once things have settled down. That would imply that we need to find a good hiding place for them BEFORE we being the attack, very well camouflaged, etc; they would be our lifeline AND sitting ducks while the hive goes into last-gasp angry buzz mode. Right now they are positioned to act as a FOP, which is exactly where they shouldn't be when SHTF if they are our secret out.

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more it seems like the best bet is really to bring all the big ground pounders (so Angel), along with everyone in Banshee (except Silia), and the Wildcards down the hole, then ditch the mechs (even cyclones; make them all blow up) in favor of everyone escaping on the Beta; have Severian make sure to save enough magic voodoo to invis it for the escape and rendezvous with Vulture on the way to orbit. That seems to have a reasonably good chance of success without planning to be stuck on the planet fighting for the rest of our lives. On the distraction side it is simpler; hit and run to get the party started (maybe on the side opposite the entryway we're going to use), followed by a secondary assault (maybe closer to the Hyena for that one); basically get the hive all worked up about attacks on its perimeter. Then, when it comes time to evac, all the air capable units (even if they were doing ground duty) provide ground support/cover for the ground only units to retreat to the Hyena; once they get there, the air units (except one which can link up to the hyena once it is in flight)) load up ASAP and Hyena takes off. By that time, hopefully, the hive will be already trying to pull its resources back in to defend against the actual intrusion (and eventual explosion), which hopefully will make the Hyena's get away lightly contested. IF we do do that, though Severian probably should not bring his air skimmer; it would be nice for getting in there, but it would have to be left behind, and it is harder to replace, I think, than the other stuff.

In reply to Cerise (msg # 267):

If I recall, it was said before that it was inavisable to have none GEK's use GEK machinery. That was determined on the last mission, and is I recall Commadn was pissed Cerise even suggested it then. lol

Actually I beg to differ. Alpha Veritechs are some of the most agile mecha in the game. IF not the most. Cyclone's are only agile in the fact that they have a free auto dodge. The larger ground mecha of Angel GRoup couldn't compare to the agility of an Alpha. Some of thier lighter one's, yes.

See initial statement above about none GEk's using GEK mecha. This was broached on the last mission.

Anyway, you're the boss. I voiced my concerns from an intel standpoint. The in and out of atmo ability of the delta's makes more sense up above, not down below.

It was for GEKS to use another GEK's mecha that was a problem. It is also a problem to have a GEK use non-GEK stuff, because they lose all their bonuses. I don't think anythign has been said about a non-GEK using a GEK machine; I had assumed that the GEK stuff was extra electronics and that all the usual controls were still there, so a non-GEK would just fly it like they would a non-modified one. If that is not the case, then, of course, that takes anyone else using Albatross off the table completely.

Angel group doesn't have any "large" ground mecha (they all use Strikers, which are basically the smallest, fastest mecha with cloaks, as far as I know); the only "large" one, really is the Spartan in Banshee (Xavier). And, mechanically (in the game), there's no huge advantage to alphas vs deltas or the spartan or even the strikers or HK (except the HK doesn't have the stealth generator) them if they are stuck on the ground; the huge advantage of alphas is that they can do guardian and fighter forms; but those apply equally to Deltas AND are useless in a tunnel/indoor combat.

I don't see stats for the Striker anywhere, but the GM has implied (at least as I've interpreted what he's said; GM please feel free to weigh in on this!) that it is meant to be a smallish Bioroid/Destroid type mecha that probably trades raw firepower out in exchange for greater agility/speed.

So, if our goal is to be agile (mechanically, mind you) and play to our strengths (to some extent mechanical, but mostly in game "military doctrine") then ground mechs should go down the hole and the veritechs, all of them (except our escape method), shoudl remain in the sky where they can use their better-than-invid flight capability to their advantage.

By the way, GM; the beta can't transform, but it can still be attached to the alpha while the alpha is in its various modes, just like a regular (flight mode) beta can, right? Or is the whole shebang stuck as a fight-bomber because of limitations on the Beta?

Looking at the numbers: Beta can hold 24 personnel, plus the pilot and a load master.

Wildcards has 12 cyclones.
Angels have: 3 Stalkers, 3 MCB-02 Micronian Bioroids (22 ft tall, and listed in the Mecha section, not power armor section, so I assume they have stealth fields), and 2 HKs (one of those is their medic)
Banshee has; Severian (maybe a hover cycle, or no vehicle), Me (Silverback), Skyrah, Thirteen, and Gerelt (all Cyclones, all active PCs, I think), Sillia (HK), Iphigenia (if she is still around?, cyclone and our medic), Xavier (new style Spartan), Korvan (Zentraedi Striker Battloid), Kariza (maybe? I think she is more of a rear with the gear type? she uses a cyclone), Patterson (maybe also? also cyclone)

So, all of the HKs have to stay with the shuttles. That leaves 28 possible personnel, out of a max of 25 we can take (one of which will need to do loadmaster duties). If we leave the rear-with-the-gear types (Kariza and Patterson) out, then we still need to identify one more that won't go, unless we have some way to crowd one extra person onto the drop ship for escape.

Presumably, if we do need to pick one to leave behind, it would be a cyclone, preferably an NPC (because who cares if they are having fun?)

Another note is: if it is possible to crowd the Beta for a short period evac; how crowded? I'm assuming that the standard 12 per pod is having them all sitting in jump seats strapped in. But we're danger loving operators operating operationally, right? So for an evac we might accept standing room only conditions. If we could fit 4 extra people on, then, in theory we could load the 3 HKs onto the beta for the trip in, then everybody could crowd onto the beta for the evac. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to have the extra firepower, but I wouldn't want to plan on having people that we have to leave behind.

And it just struck me that this post is ALL about logistics... which is what, supposedly, wins wars (though not battles, possibly). ;)

  I know. I said its not transformable.

Ok, I'm going to post my full plan here, then I'll do an IC post, which will include uploading maps and such to everybody's mecha.

First: who goes where. I'll designate Team 1 as being the distraction team and Team 2 as the infiltration team.

Team 1 will consist of all veritechs EXCEPT Michelle's Alpha and the Drop-ship Beta (piloted by Air). K'Chek will command, though it will be split into two or more subteams, as will be seen in the "distraction plan."

Team 2 will consist of all ground units, except Miriyana, who will have overall command of the shuttles, and whichever is the more suited to acting as a mechanic, or whichever does not have demolitions skills, if one does, for the shuttle between Kariza and Patterson, who will remain with the Vulture, since Miriyana may be distracted with command functions and need the assistance for engineering.

Plans:
Team 1: Team 1 will break up into sub groups, at least 2, but more as decided by K'Chek, with each sub group performing a hit-and-run on a separate stalk. They should keep the hit and run tactics up until the Invid seem to be predicting where they will go next (we know the Invid Brain is usually smart enough to even predict where pretty random patterns will go next). At that point they will switch to, basically, just run; trying to draw as many Invid into the chase as possible, but always utilizing their speed to stay out of easy reach. The Invid will likely swarm and standing and fighting would then result in casualties.

Assuming comms are working, Team 1 will notify Team 2 and the shuttles when they are about to begin evac; Team 1 will turn on cloaks and try to lose pursuit. Once they have done so, they will return to Hyena and load up; Hyena will then evacuate to the fleet, or fold away if the Fleet is, for some reason, no longer able to receive them. Miriyana will devise a rendezvous point for both shuttles in the case that fold is needed. She won't share that with members of either team, just in case of capture or whatever.

Team 2: All of the HK units will power down and ride in on the Beta, but be ready to deploy as soon as needed. All other units will try to move in cloaked (where possible) or in vehicle mode, using backup power. If necessary, the larger units will attempt to make a path for the cyclones through any vegetation or the like, to minimize how often non-vehicular movement is required, until we get to the Hive itself. Once at the hive, Michelle will utilize her shadow device to breech the entry door shield. I expect that it will not take long before first contact occurs; at that point all cyclones and HKs will deploy, since there will then be waves of Invid arriving; stealth will no longer be possible.

In the Hive, I expect that we'll be entering on level 5, though it is possible that we'll be entering on any level 4 or lower. Our possible objectives are on level 4 (Power Core) or 6 (Brain). IF we go for the power core, there is no entrance to it on level 4, so we would have to breech, or go up to at least level 3. If we do arrive on level 5, I believe our best course of action is to get to chamber F or G as quickly and with as little contact as possible, then breech the floor into the Brain's lair. There is a lot of defense in there, typically, but no more so than we would end up fighting if we were to attempt to make our way up to the power core. Without the brain, the Hive will become disorganized and unable to raise their shield, so if we can take it, our objective will be complete and we can evac immediately. If we come into level 5 adjacent to chamber B, however, we will almost certainly be noticed by the active Invid within; if that is the case we may need to change plans; we may have to virtually clear the entire level before we can move forward, and, if that is the case, it may be wise to instead breech in the middle of the hive in chamber C; if so we may as well breech up first, place whatever sort of explosion we can muster, saving just a bit to breech down from C as well just prior to the main explosion. This would hopefully increase the likelihood that the power core breech would also take out the Brain.

If we come in on level 4; This level is dominated by almost entirely stasis chambers; we should make an attempt on the power core only in this case. If we come in near chamber B we should probably take the portal up (into another stasis chamber on level 3) then fight our way into the core, set up our attempt at demolitions, then evacuate immediately.

If we come in on level 6 or 7, then we should make our attack on the Brain. If we are ever on level 7, we want to try to avoid chamber E and F, if at all possible. Once on level 6, we should make our way to chamber D as quickly as possible and engage the Brain.

If we end up engaging the Brain as much firepower should be focused on it as possible, while still maintaining defenses. Once it is down, not only is our mission complete, but the enemy will become less coordinated and will have a much harder time both fighting and pursuing.

If we end up going for the power core, then we need to minimize the countdown until it goes off to just what we'll need to evac; any extra time will cost us in explosive capability; the Invid may not know tech well, but they will try to destroy any foreign tech they find in that chamber. Most likely we'll want to place it at the bottom of the power core chamber, below the core itself, in hopes of minimizing its chance of discovery; we'll all be flying out in the alpha-Beta anyhow, so getting back out won't be a huge concern at that point.

For the evac plan; once we've set the explosives or defeated the Brain and any immediate threat, all units will load onto the beta in enviro-armor only; no mecha of any kind. Severian will then make the Alpha-Beta unit invisible (as much as possible; looking at Field of Invis, it is an area; if we get Severian as close to the center of the alpha-betas as possible and have him running it then, depending on his level he should be covering the majority or all of the alpha-beta combo.), and keep it that way as long as possible, if he is capable, and Michelle and Air will get us out by the most expedient means possible. Once the alpha-beta has escaped the Hive, it will rendezvous with Vulture in flight, dock, and the pair will head to the fleet, or the space fold rendezvous point, as applicable.

During the operation, Xavier and Sillia should utilize their mental capabilities to try to assist; the males are capable of precognitive and clairvoyant type abilities, so Xavier should utilize those capabilities to reduce our chances of encountering the enemy as well as reduce our chances of being caught off guard; with that in mind I want Xavier to have a macro button he can hit that will flash a notice on everybody's HUD to alert them that his "Spidey Sense is Tingling." The females' powers are more around attack/manipulation of others. Unfortunately there's nothing that is like a psychic static that she could use to interfere with the Invid communication, but if we kill the Brain Empathic Transmission and/or Suggestion may help aid our escape. Severian should save at least 2 castings of invisibility for our getaway, if at all possible, but otherwise should try to utilize them as effectively as possible; probably this means less dealing damage and more trying to get utility, since even the highest damage spells are pretty weak compared to mecha weapons, though some are pretty good at called targets (like Call Lightning that automatically hits), so they could be pretty useful for "sniping" tactics to take out and individual Invid quickly.

Note that, since this is a War Game, any possible space folds will simply be registered with the command ship and not actually performed.

So.... a word of concern here.

I've been reading about kamikazing a Cyclone to basically act as a nuke, but this is still a bunch of humans whom visuals and sensors make appear as Invid. As much as the plan to completely vaporize the Invid base is good, I am kind of worried that all those fake Invid might be getting caught in a very real explosion.

That would kind of put a damper on the mission debriefing later on...

In reply to Miriana Thakun (msg # 274):

2 notes.

Cyclones are slow, and can only go for so long, without using their protoculture engines. In short, they cannot transform, can only be driven for 2 hours before they have to engage thier protoculture drive, cannot fly, and reduces speed by 25% (Max speed of 150mph, instead of 200mph.).

As to Miriana's thing. I am certain command as planned for this, and even planned for the unorthadox plans Skyrah is known for. It should be safe to assume that they have compensated for us using a Cyclone as a bomb, considering it's a tactic Skyrah has used before with success. I figure the explosion will likely not happen, and any units in the blast area will be remotely shut down as if destroyed.

Yeah, i just don't want to be on the receiving end of a speech on why live-fire ordnance (even improvised ones) isn't allowed on regular training exercises: They obviously went through a lot of trouble to make sure nothing, and no one, gets (too) damaged.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:45, Tue 04 July 2017.

I will submit the plan up the chain of command so that they can simulate it. I am sure that whatever we do, including modifying our mecha, is subject to cancelation by observers and institution of a simulated result.

And I am pretty sure 2 hours of actual driving time is plenty, especially if we recharge shortly before approaching the tunnel.

In reply to Cerise (msg # 278):

The batteries are only recharged by the breaking system, not plugging them in. Which means to recharge them they'd have to power up the protoculture engine. That 2 hours is a hard 2 hours.

Another thing to take into account is the 50 Series Cyclones are slower than the 40 Series Cyclones are slower than the 30 Series. Skyrah has the only 30 series cyclone, having a 38R recon Cyclone. Ashtar has the slowest Cyclone, having a 50 Series. The rest are 40 Series. So our max speeds only going to be about 175mph, if not slower.

Still I figure, like you, we'll be spotted before the two hour window is up. Or when we get to the end of it, that us burning protoculture won't matter.

2 hours of actual driving, though. If they are sitting still they shouldn't discharge significantly. Furthermore, we have scouted up to near the tunnel; we can probably safely use protoculture to at least the point where Geralt already galavanted gleefully on full power, then switch to battery. From there, speed is going to be much lower than 175 mph, probably under 60 mph, since it is, at best off road driving,and at worst having the big mechs clear a reasonable path. The point, though, is to try to get to the Hive w/o triggering protoculture sensors, since that is their only long range sensors. Once we're in the hive I expect that we will face enemies almost immediately; then it doesn't matter so much because they will raise the psychic alarm.

the tunnel entrance is in the jungle. You will not be operating the cyclone in bike mode. You are gonna have to go in with the beta or walk in. The choice is yours. But riding in is not gonna happen.

  And nothing your group can do will be allowed to cause real damage or possible injuries to soldiers. Accidents can happen, but they are closely monitored and anything you do is monitored by computers.




  HAPPY FORTH!!!!

In reply to Cerise (msg # 280):

Depends on armor, really. An M1 Abrams hits 0.6 miles on a gallon, and burns 12 gallons per hour when idle. Maybe slightly less for a sci-fi protoculture model, but I don't know how admired Cyclones are in comparison to those tanks 'of old'. Given they double as personal battle suits, I doubt there'd be much of a change though.

  Well Cyclones and Silverbacks are slightly different then a hover tank. Not to mention standard tanks. Fuel consumption is different in different types of terrain. My hysung 650 get 60 mpg one the freeway. but put it in a city setting it get 45 to 50 with all  the stop and go.

  This said I am using the rules given for traveling in the jungles provided by PB in return of the masters. I know its old school but i know right where it is and i know its was pretty universal across the universe.

I figured, to get to the tunnel entrance, at least the majority of the trip would be walk-in. Near the entrance we should either have the large bots stomp down a path, or ferry to cyclones in with the Beta (a handful at at time). Inside the tunnel, I was hoping to have the big bots stomp down a path, if the foliage stuff inside is too dense for them to ride through.

Obviously stomping down a path is much slower than regular travel, but we have a few big bots, so if they all go in single file line and look for places to step that aren't already flattened, it shouldn't be like they need to heel-toe it the whole way.

Looking at the rules, they indicate that normal travel is at 50% speed... so if we assume that the big bots slow down to 25% maximum speed (going half as fast as they can to be careful to tromp down everything), then it seems like they could be making a rudimentary "dirt path", what with being extremely heavy and putting immense pressure on whatever they knock down; it'd be like an extra heavy steam roller (that could also knock down trees) rolling over the whole way. Obviously the tracking bonus would be increased even further... but that is going to suck anyway with that many Destroids making their way through the jungle.

As for mileage, etc; I'd assumed, since they are operating on electricity when not using protoculture, that they used at least as good of energy savings tech as currently exists; ie virtually no utilization while "idle" (auto-off, essentially), as well as, likely, energy recapture while breaking. The latter would be covered by the "2 hours of riding time", but the former would simply mean that it is 2 hours of riding time; sitting time would have virtually no cost. The only "idle" cost would be parasitic load, which I would imagine would be kept to an absolute minimum; these are survival devices, after all. And the normal ambient discharge of the batteries, which, once again given current tech, should be minimal enough to not even notice unless we try to store the bike for quite a long time without charging it; days, at least, not hours. Now if the last little leg of the trip to the tunnel, plus the trip down the tunnel is more than 2 hours of actual ride time, then we could have some trouble, but there are certainly more unknown problems than that, I think. We don't even know, roughly, what the nature of the subterranean flora is, and if it will cause any more problems than simply being a physical obstacle. I don't think our mileage is really a concern in comparison. Of course, I also assume that 2 hours of riding time is 2 hours, regardless of whether we're going 5 mph or max speed, so the penalties to speed due to terrain would hamper our maximum distance. But there are ways to handle that; for example, if we're blazing a trail, then make sure a reasonable distance is blazed before moving forward, rather than trying to keep right on top of the big bots, thus going as fast as the blazed trail terrain will allow, rather than going the same speed as the bots while they are knocking stuff down.

In reply to Cerise (msg # 284):

My thoughts reading this, keeping in mind we're going for a stealthy approach:



(and yes, i know there's a typo, but it's not my poster) ;)

  I agree the tech would allow the bikes to remained charge for longer as they would just be sitting there. I have one of those little electric pocket rockets (ok I have given to my nephew.) and yes when not in use it does not use up its batteries. (the documentry who killed the electric car is good for this stuff)

  But you are on a time limit. you do not have time to make a path. and the bikes to wait for it.

   Speaking of Bikes. Here is my New Bike with the pocket rocket for my nephew.

  Except this is Palladium Rules it be 01% :)

Well, I guess if you are flat out nixing it, then there is no point in even considering it.

Given that, I guess we just move in as fast as we can and hope that their 2 mile-out detection of us doesn't give them any good chance to prepare any hardened defense, given how fast we'll be moving.

  You do not have the time to make the paths that the cyclones could utilize. I realize the book says they can do alot. but they are not dirt styled motorcycles. they are basicly souped up street bike.

   I allowed the group to basicly move with near no Protoculture use. but it took them 5 hours to get to where they found the tunnel and even then the two destroid/bioroid left a path.

  that said have those cyclones load up. You can hold one passanger inside that silverback with you.

Hmmm it would mean being much slower to deploy, but I suppose we could load 18 of the cyclones folded, w/ drivers sitting on top of the folded cyclones in the Beta, lash the remaining HKs and Cyclones (all in battloid mode, probably, and powered down) to the bots that are going in (shin guards!), and lash the silverback to the exterior of the Beta and go in that way. We would be pretty slow to deploy, at least all the folded cyclones would, but I supposed that would get us all there without triggering the long range protoculture sensors. Certainly would be uncomfortable, but it would be fast and "stealthy" (from a purely protoculture sense).

Depending on how the entry hallway looked we could either deploy as soon as we got to the Hive, or hold off until our cover was blown; either way, though, once deployed we'd remain active until the mission was over.

Other than that, I think moving in as fast as possible and using speed to minimize their chances of hardening their defenses is really our last bet.

So, I guess my question is: you said that the silverback could be lashed to a beta; is a cyclone in battleoid mode (or an HK) small enough to be lashed to the shin of the big bots we have without overly hampering their movement? Or will that be completely self defeating? If not, perhaps one could be lashed to the front and/or back of the torso portion?

Hmm... Just throwing out an idea here, but would the bigger mechs be able to carry the Cyclones under their arms? That would allow them to remain shut down entirely and not count towards the 2 hour limit, right?

Edit: Whoops, Ninja'd :P
This message was last edited by the player at 19:41, Wed 05 July 2017.

  Miriana I just want to say Censored do to the inappropriate nature of commit! just kidding but your question just had me searching for the answer. Which took my time from my vid game. :p

  Answer yes, the gladiator and strikers can each carry one cyclone in a hand. moving with care. Or one in both hands allowing them to move about. the Micronian Bioroid ride a hover sled like old school Bioroid in the masters empire, so they cannot carry anyone are carrying their blaster as well.

  No the hks and the cyclones could not be strapped to silverback. The silverback can be hung to beta. but if its only two straps (robot mode) it adds risk. In vechicle mode its more stable, since it would be secured with 4 cables. and lowers risk.

  2 HKs have full stealth tech. And can keep up with their unit.

I didn't mean to strap anything to the silverback; by strapped to the bigger bots, I meant the destroids and such.. the big ones we're bringing (Spartan and Strikers, and Michelle's Alpha). Given your answer to Miryiana, I guess they can, at least, be carried in hand. That might be good enough.

Silverback will be strapped in vehicle mode. Neither the beta nor the silverback are combat critical, at least in the sense of lending their firepower, so it may be slower to deploy, but they can take their time a bit more.

I thought the HKs did not have stealth tech? Aren't they the same (roughly) size as cyclones in battloid?

If the HKs have stealth, then all of the cyclones (17 total) can fit into the Beta. If the HKs (3 total) don't have stealth, then they can be carried by the Spartan and Strikers. If it is better (because of easier balance) for a given big bot to carry 2 at a time, than 1, then one of the cyclones can be carried in hand as well.

It is still up to Severian whether he wishes to ride his cycle into this, knowing that he'll have to leave it behind. How big is his magical armor, BTW? I guess I'd assumed that it was like personal armor (like CVR-3 sized, or like a suit a plate mail, or something)... but if it is power armor sized, we may need to leave it behind as well; the ride back in the Beta is going to be a super-tight squeeze as it is. If that is the case, it may be best not to bring it on this operation.

Problem solved.

Obviously the bioroids should blaze the trail, since they won't be carrying any cyclones, etc, so they can knock down the bigger stuff ahead of the bots that are trying to be a little more careful.

Ah, ok; How small can Sillia's HK be packed? Could it fit into the Beta with the 17 folded cyclones? If so, then that, else, maybe pull one cyclone out and have her and the cyclone carried by her dear husband, Xavier, who I'm sure will be extra careful not to drop her. ;)

Otherwise, I suppose we could revert to the idea of leaving her behind. I mean... it is one HK plus the Garudian Female psych powers; the powers are all single target and, largely, useless against the Brain itself (though could be useful if we encounter some other smart bug like a pincer or one of the types we know nothing about and, so, would not plan for), and one HK (I hope) won't make or break the op.

Basically it sounds like we're just trying to find a way to transport one HK suit and its pilot; I think weighing down a Destroid by having it carry things is probably a worse choice than leaving behind Sillia. But if she can wedge her armor in with the Cyclones on the ebta and climb in on top of it (like all the cyclone riders), then 1 more person and suit of armor is better than 1 less.

if you leave her behind it will be your choice. But as she is part of banshee squad, your group will be docked points from your score as your leaving your team behind. As this is a training exercise.


  You need to give the players their mission briefing so we can get the mission underway.

Miriyana there are no air units in Hyena or Vulture that are on recon; we're on a special operations insertion; the main force will be doing any further recon. The air units Cerise was referring to are the diversion attack; they will need to be able to retreat to Hyena to escape to space once their diversion is finished.

Just making sure that you understand what's going on. You're in command of Vulture and Hyena (the shuttles); Vulture is the get-away vehicle for the ground forces (assuming we make it out) and Hyena is the get away vehicle for the air forces.

Kaarle is in overall command of the diversion (air) forces, but not the shuttles.

Ah sorry, read 'air units' and thought it included the fighters.

Anyway, the point is that there's a number of marked points on the map i made, and Hyena and the Vulture will be occupying two points on them. They aren't supposed to actually get in a fight, it's 'recon' with a big red "DO NOT ENGAGE" stamp on it, as soon as an enemy is spotted that may end up wandering too close, they move to where the other team is, short range radio in the next point and move to there. Rinse repeat and lather up to the evac.

Once the evac begins, Hyena (to Kaarle) and Vulture (to Cerise) radio in what points they are at and everyone converges on those two specific locations before hightailing it out of there. If either radios back they can't make it there an alternative is decided upon as is seen fit. Ideally, the only damage Hyena and Vulture are going to take is from the enemies chasing you to us, until then it's evasive all day every day.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:18, Thu 06 July 2017.

Yeah, you got your part of the basic plan down; don't get caught; stay out of the fight, until evac time.

Staying shut down and under camouflage might work for that, perhaps. But, of course, it is up to you, ultimately, if you'd rather evade, go to high orbit, whatever, as long as you can be to the right spot in the right time, we'll all be happy. ;)

Yeah, camo might, but not for this evac duty. It's great if your pickup spot is secure, but if you need to reposition any anti-air's going to be taking fairly accurate shots at you the entire time since you'll be below cloud level, and moving slow during takeoff and landings.

Likewise for Hyena, if it's in the air than any air fighters it's supposed to pick up can double as a fighter screen to keep it out of trouble. Can't do that if they're on the ground.

One thing to note, though, is that Hyena can't load up while in the air; it will have to land and all but one (an alpha or alpha-beta) will have to load up before it can take back off.

Just a heads up; I'm going to be out of town for a week starting Saturday. I should have internet coverage, but I may be spotty in logging in/posting.

In reply to Cerise (msg # 303):

A planet's a big place, i'm sure we'll find a nice little clearing somewhere :)

In reply to Miriana Thakun (msg # 305):

I think we are over thinking this whole thing. The entire point of the diversion is to pull as many forces from the main base as possible. That being said, why not have the insertion force wait a set period of time after the diversion force starts, then go in themselves. By the time they notice us, they will already be engaged with them. We'll be left to engage only minor forces.

Folding and packing away our Cyclones and everything else will make deployment impossible if we are spotted. Further, should the beta get destroyed, there goes the majority of our firepower in one big boom.

BTW, sorry for being quiet for a few days. Damn holiday had me working long shifts at work, which is also playing hell on my shoulder.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:42, Fri 07 July 2017.

The diversion will only draw out the perimeter defenses; the core defenders will certainly remain... and those forces are not minor. We want to get as close as possible before we have to start fighting. Deployment of folded cyclones doesn't take all that terribly long, and we have loads of firepower in non-cyclone form that can cover the deployment if we have to do it under fire for some reason. As for the beta getting destroyed, it obviously should be top priority to protect it, even after the cyclones deploy. And they are sorta tough, presumably if it looked like it was going to get taken out, the pilot would open the cargo doors and dump the contents; everyone is in CVR armor, so, while they may get injured, it shouldn't be serious; way better than being blown up along with the beta.

I think the risks are fully worth the benefit of getting in very close before making our presence known. I fully suspect that as soon as we're at the Hive door, we'll need to deploy all the cyclones, and it will be just like we had all hopped, skipped, and jumped there, except that the Brain won't have 2 miles of warning before we are at his doorstep.

In reply to Cerise (msg # 307):

Fair warning, this week my store is very nearly facing a record week in sales which has been keeping me very busy. Not only that but our store has reached nationwide recognition as one of the best Domino's not just in our franchise, but in the nation. We're number 3 out of all Domino's in the USA in terms of customer satisfaction, service, and the like. This is why we have been having record sales since last Thursday, averaging 3 - 4,000 dollar days. So thats why I been a bit delayed in posting. To add to that, next week we start our 50% off boost week, so sales will only go up even higher.

Needless to say, I am completely stoked about all of this because this is my store. My GM is entering the DM in training program, and that will make me the GM of the store which he's been basically letting me run for the past couple weeks. So last week, this week, and if we pull it off, next week, not only look good on our store, and him, but me as well.

The down side is this, it's been playing hell on my shoulder. Lots of pain. I been dealing with it, and I have a great crew giving me lots of support. So I should be okay. And depsite all the pain, I am having a total blast! lol

I just looked at my city as the sales floodgates opened and said, challenge accepted.

Well, congrats then! :D

...Also, you know you game too much when you consider GM and DM game terms, and had to read that sentence three times to figure out what you actually meant by that :P

Lol. Agreed Miriana

Posting long posts is a pita on a phone with flaky internet, so forgive me if I jacked something up, please!

Xavier is on a hover sled?

Yes he is. But he has no piloting skill for it and would be killed if he tried to take it into combat.

  But as the Spartan is only 27ft tall, five feet taller then a bioroid. And he could not keep up with out it.

  He can use a skill and learn to pilot one though.

Damn, I hope the other big bots have their audiovisual sensors set to record, or at least are transmitting the feed, so the rest of us can watch. ;) haha