If they are a big pain, cut them by all means is my suggestion. Else expect more, as I was already planning on buying them, and have been talking to WarDog about a ferret or two full of them as well.

Variable levels is a pain

Tracking infantry, apply for repairs, applying for salvage, loaning them around...

really they're a little too flexible which creates too many pauses in the bookkeeping to work out.

A flat 4af repairs/salvage for each experience level is what i'm going to be looking at.

Useful off the mission but not overly complicated.

Infantry are suppose to be there to fight, but they're being used as auxillary support waaaaay too much.  In many ways more useful than techs, which isnt appropriate imo

Well when 4 option level scavengers can loot 3 tons of armor alone that's 30k right there, if not being used to help pull expensive components. So it's certainly tempting to use them for support as is.

So I though of the infantry, when you took scavengers/astechs that you were really just buying more aux support units than pure combat squads.  They certainly are very expensive if you use them like that and in a number of missions wouldn't be able to use them at all when it comes to hit and run.

Woke  up and decided the year is 3030 and that the campaign was due for a minor tech adjustment.


Beta Ferro Fib, will be available on a tn 7+

Beta Endo Steel will be available on a tn 10+

---

Beta+ Ferro Fib, will be available on a tn 9+

Beta+ Endo Steel will be available on a tn 12+

The new versions are not compatible with the older versions.  They require two less critical spaces.  The 18 Critical space are default allocated as {6 RT/6 LT ~ 3 RA/3 LA}
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:08, Wed 08 July 2015.

Alaric rolled a 10 yesterday evening for Endo during character creation, can he go ahead and pick it up if he wants to? Or is it just the way of the market at work?
This message was last edited by the player at 12:06, Wed 08 July 2015.

If he wants he can have Beta Endo.

Roll was made yesterday and that's what was available yesterday.

Will let him take back the roll if he wants to try for the new Endo steel, but honestly, bird in hand.

Speaking of, are the people who declined a mulligan due up for availability rolls?

Everyone, those who did, and did not take mulligans get two new rolls for the finished contract.

Waiting on my lazy ass to tell you how much you've made before opening that can of worms.

Copy, standing by for monies!

Thanks Kitten, will pass it along.

Paydays are a good thing.  I've got some modification expenses coming up.

Paydays are awesome. I'm more looking forward to getting some xp so that I can get Alt Equipment. Having a Config B would be nice.

twinked the equipment chart.

Added New and True, Ferro and Endo is not readily available.  Rolls for them will be allowed with Future Auctions, or with the use of Academy Prestige, earned from missions.

---

The Academy researchers have been looking at the Old Hoff Heat Sinks, which they use on their power loaders, and have been working on improving it.

Added New Hoff Heat Sinks and Omni Triple Strength Heat Sinks...

---

Added Small Cockpits, which is pretty much from the Max Tech book.

You replace the standard cockpit with this small one.  The Small one only weighs 2 ton, and removes the 2nd Life Support, which is made available for equipment.  The down side is, that the tight space is harder to operate in, and the mechwarrior is at a penalty of 1.

This is considered a 'downgrade', and counts (1) tons against the mechs Cap.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:40, Wed 08 July 2015.

Adding new concept to the campaign. (This is all research that turns up at the Academy)





Think of Hot engines as the poor man's XL engine.

Presuming your standard engine weight 10 or more tons, you save 5 tons on the weight of the engine, at the expense of taking an engine hit, which makes the engine more fragile, and costs you 5 heat sinks.  It's also a little more vulnerable having Engine crits in the Right and Left torso.


Hot Engines are about 50% more expensive than standard engines, which isnt terrible when you consider that XL engines are 400% more expensive.

Mechs that use a lot of heat sinks... probably wont want a hot engine.

Mechs that run cool (Ballistics and Streaks), will probably give them a second look.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:14, Wed 08 July 2015.

Okay...

The way units are always in flux, the unit handicap concept is just a wash.

I'm making an effort to moving to a player handicap system instead.

Before...

a characters mission weight was determined by the mech they piloted, and nothing more.


Im moving toward adjusting this, based on how developed the character is (xp they have)

How much advance tech they have (the use of Endo Steel and DS/HS)

and the skill the player displays during a mission.


The weight of the mech multiplied by the handicap, plus an adjustment for conventional units, will determine the characters effective mission weight for future mission calculations.

As noted here...
link to a message in another game

Hmm so we're saying that saving 2 tons of weight via endo is worth 200% op force weight?

That seems a bit extreme.

2 ton of weight from endo steel = +1 handicap

So in Akarian's case... if nothing else is looked at...

30 ton mech x 1.1 = 33 tons effective mech weight.

Oh well I think the chart is missing a decimal point than.

As starting handicap of 1.0 + 1.0 from endo is 2.0 not 1.1.

Endo is currently listed as 0.25 per .5 tons, not 0.025.

1.1 seems much more reasonable though.

In the Extreme Case...

Regina...

She's a 683xp character, in a 30ton mech that uses Endo Steel, piloted by a skilled player.

So..

Base 1 + 0.29 + 0.30 + 0.2 = x 1.79 Handicap.

Her Valkyrie is 30 tons x 1.70 = 51 tons effective Mission weight.

Yeah, i just noticed i slipped a decimal.  The final numbers havent been firmed up yet, just presenting the concept for the moment.

Yeah, i just noticed i slipped a decimal.  The final numbers havent been firmed up yet, just presenting the concept for the moment.

Well I think the concept is sound, numbers will need tweaked likely as data comes in.

Though that doesn't sound to unreasonable in Regina's case.

One thing to note (fair/intentional or not) is that unit commanders will get hit harder with this, due to the XP from promotions.
Likewise EW characters and others that spend heavy into support skills, will cause over all more op force as well, despite not necessarily having increased damage output.

You have more xp, you have more developed characters.  Doesnt matter if it's from a promotion or not, you still have the 25 xp to throw into things to make the character better at what he needs to do.


Average leadership these days seems to be around a 4, but i remember the dark days of command when leadership was like... a two.

While they dont benefit themselves directly they do improve the effectivness of the overall unit.  Just because they arent doing damage directly, reducing the TN for a whitworth to hit with LRMs at long range, or providing defensive def modifier on with EW, provides the unit with a notable benefit.

If this werent the case, why would anyone play them?

Fair enough, I think it will likely work out mostly okay any which way you cut it. As a base line system it won't ever be perfect in every situation, but the manual handicap adjustment can be used to fine tune things, if something is off to much.

It also nicely accounts for free lancers which the old unit handicaps really didn't handle.

Though of course there is still a huge difference between a well ran unit that works together, and a disorganized/weakly led one. Individual level handicaps are likely to just make the later unit even more doomed.