Mekton Zeta.. good or bad
Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer
: I've never been on this board before, and I see that there was some talk
: about Mekton Zeta. I have Mekton 2, and was wonder what are the major
: differences. I'd like something that's a good balance between MT2 and MTS,
: is it Zeta? I like games that are technical, simple, and yet not too
: complex. Is Zeta worth the money?
If you're looking for a good roleplaying system, go out and buy Zeta. If
you're looking for a decent combat & construction system, hang on to
Mekton II and MTS.
That's about the advice I can give.
--
Jeroen "Tsu" Braamhaar <tsu...@xs4all.nl>
Net.agitator, anime otaku, wannabe games designer & the editor of IMAGzINE.
* Gundam 0080/0083 * Macross * Gall Force * Riding Bean * Thundersub *
* Bubble Gum Crisis * Macross II * Oh! My Goddess (doh!) * MORE!!
LINNA SYLIA SYLVIE PRISS * RABBY PATTY CATTY ELUZA LUFY SHILDY * EVE *
* BERNIE CHRIS AL * GATO CIMA NINA *** SONODA * MIKIMOTO
Author of Battle Shark - Night Runners - The Train - Thunder & Lightning
_MY_ OPINIONS ARE _MINE_ ALONE. DON'T BLAME ME FOR HAVING THEM!!
Aaron C. Martin
> If you're looking for a good roleplaying system, go out and buy Zeta. If
> you're looking for a decent combat & construction system, hang on to
> Mekton II and MTS.
I've never played (or even seen in the stores ;) Mekton II or
MTS, but I do have MZ, and I personnally like the simple construction
rules. I do think they did rush on it a bit and left out a few rules
here and there, but no one's perfect. :)
Anyone know if MZ+ will have "Artificially Intelligent"
Roadstrikers and Meks? I don't want to always have a pilot to get killed.
GE/CS d+ s+:+ a-- C+ B P L E---- W++ N++ | o888o8 o888o8 8o88oo o8888o 8o88oo
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email: aar...@inlink.com - WWW: http://www.inlink.com/~aaronm/index.html
Billy Karren
about Mekton Zeta. I have Mekton 2, and was wonder what are the major
differences. I'd like something that's a good balance between MT2 and MTS,
is it Zeta? I like games that are technical, simple, and yet not too
complex. Is Zeta worth the money?
bill
Grebo Guru
Well, bill, despite what certain people on this board might say (Jeroen),
Mekton Zeta is very definitely worth your money. The major differences
are:
1) A new charatcer generation system which gives you more skills and llows
you play a young "archtype" (like an Anime Hero or Big Lug) or an older,
experienced professional.
2) Most of the holes in the combat rules from Mekton II have been filled.
You can now actually USE shields, there is a critcal hit system, and some
fun optional rules that do things like determine flightspeed from MA and
make mecha much more fragile (if you like).
3) As for a good balance between MTS and MKII, well... Mekton Zeta is
mostly a refined version of Mekton II, but much more usable. It does have
more systems, equipment, and mecha options than Mekton II did, and all the
emcha were designed with the new version of MTS, so they're nice and
consistent (with the exception of a few errors). Zeta Plus will soon be
out, and it's supposed to be an even more advanced verison of MTS, usable
with Zeta.
I highly recommend Mekton Zeta. Buy it in good confidence.
Grebo Guru.
Tom Harris
|> Billy Karren (EWJ...@prodigy.com) wrote:
|> : I've never been on this board before, and I see that there was some talk
|> : about Mekton Zeta. I have Mekton 2, and was wonder what are the major
|> : differences. I'd like something that's a good balance between MT2 and MTS,
|> : is it Zeta? I like games that are technical, simple, and yet not too
|> : complex. Is Zeta worth the money?
|>
|> If you're looking for a good roleplaying system, go out and buy Zeta. If
|> you're looking for a decent combat & construction system, hang on to
|> Mekton II and MTS.
|>
|> That's about the advice I can give.
I think I'll have to agree with Jeroen here... Zeta didn't do
a very good job with starships, or at least I think so. There
weren't *any* Mekton-scale weapons capable of doing damage to
a ship... *^**(& screens. That took the Gundam-style game I was
hopingn straight down the drain...
Also, there weren't any provisions in Zeta for making your own
weapon, or even for adding verniers to offset the weight penalties...
--Tom
--
Tom Harris to...@lexis-nexis.com
Lexis-Nexis, Miamisburg, Ohio tha...@ddt.eng.uc.edu
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio tha...@uceng.uc.edu
Waiting for the year 200X so I can join the U.N. Spacy and fly a VF-1J
Tom Harris
|> tsu...@xs1.xs4all.nl (Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer) writes:
|>
|> |> Billy Karren (EWJ...@prodigy.com) wrote:
|> |> : I've never been on this board before, and I see that there was some talk
|> |> : about Mekton Zeta. I have Mekton 2, and was wonder what are the major
|> |> : differences. I'd like something that's a good balance between MT2 and MTS,
|> |> : is it Zeta? I like games that are technical, simple, and yet not too
|> |> : complex. Is Zeta worth the money?
|> |>
|> |> If you're looking for a good roleplaying system, go out and buy Zeta. If
|> |> you're looking for a decent combat & construction system, hang on to
|> |> Mekton II and MTS.
|> |>
|> |> That's about the advice I can give.
|>
|> I think I'll have to agree with Jeroen here... Zeta didn't do
|> a very good job with starships, or at least I think so. There
|> weren't *any* Mekton-scale weapons capable of doing damage to
|> a ship... *^**(& screens. That took the Gundam-style game I was
|> hopingn straight down the drain...
^^^^^^^
That's <hoping for>. Oops :O
Alexander Williams
Billy Karren, replying to the mystic words as written, saying:
>I've never been on this board before, and I see that there was some talk
>about Mekton Zeta. I have Mekton 2, and was wonder what are the major
>differences. I'd like something that's a good balance between MT2 and MTS,
> is it Zeta? I like games that are technical, simple, and yet not too
>complex. Is Zeta worth the money?
The short version: Zeta is definitely worth picking up, it has
several differences in some subtle areas, larger ones in the
construction systems and a layout that resembles an explosions in a
computer componant factory.
The long version: Get your hands on the last several months'
worth of archives of rec.games.mecha. We've had at least six
different independent reviews of the system and an assortment of
various other commentary, some of it even posted by me. The final
shakedown seemed to be what I gave above, but with specific
references. Some of us were somewhat miffed at the more obvious
typos and disagreements between text and tables, especially
considering the lag time between conception and release, but
proofreading is truly becoming a lost art in the industry these
days, I often think. (I found typos in a Chaosium product the other
day! Truly, the End is Nigh!)
Zeta is worth the money if you think you can overlook the
references to ``it'll be in Zeta Plus!'' sprinkled throughout.
Well, five places, but they're highly annoying five places.
--
tha...@runic.mind.org (Alexander Williams) | PGP 2.6 key avail
Should we shed our mental pants and compare | DF 22 16 CE CA 7F
the size of our consciousnesses? | 98 47 13 EE 8E EC
Jan Sand to Marvin Minsky | 9C 2D 9B 9B
Alexander Williams
> I've never played (or even seen in the stores ;) Mekton II or
>MTS, but I do have MZ, and I personnally like the simple construction
>rules. I do think they did rush on it a bit and left out a few rules
>here and there, but no one's perfect. :)
Just to clear up any confusion, Zeta's construction rules aren't
significantly more or less complex, in the main, than the original
MII construction rules. What they are is more linearized and clear,
so that there is a much more clear path from conception to
actualization. As always, there's a little glitchiness at putting
in thrusters (specifically in juggling spaces, cutting back on
equipment means mass has to be recomputed), but that's unavoidable.
> Anyone know if MZ+ will have "Artificially Intelligent"
>Roadstrikers and Meks? I don't want to always have a pilot to get killed.
Assuming Plus follows MTS as Zeta did MII then AI systems should
be prominantly displayed.
--
tha...@runic.mind.org (Alexander Williams) | PGP 2.6 key avail
Apostate. Heretic. Savior. | DF 22 16 CE CA 7F
Dimeon Wu has been called all of these things.| 98 47 13 EE 8E EC
--- _Heretic: Kingdom Come_ | 9C 2D 9B 9B
Alexander Williams
> I think I'll have to agree with Jeroen here... Zeta didn't do
> a very good job with starships, or at least I think so. There
> weren't *any* Mekton-scale weapons capable of doing damage to
> a ship... *^**(& screens. That took the Gundam-style game I was
> hopingn straight down the drain...
Much as I hate to defend Zeta (believe me), I'll have to, here.
Zeta did a far better job with starships than MII did, you must
admit. In fact, we get a lot more dirty-grungy-basics in Zeta than
we did in MII. The fact that the rather abstracted bits we
received, especially in starships, were more tightly tied to a
certain style of play is inevitable.
The style of starship Zeta seems to default to are the ones which
resemble nothing so much as Star Wars vessels. Given that, it would
be silly for mecha-scale weapons to go sproinging through shields
with ease. If you /really/ want to use Zeta starships and don't
want to change the rules much, just say that megacrits that ignore
armour ignore shields, too; ``found a chink in the shielding!''
Trivial, yet it retains a certain flavour.
> Also, there weren't any provisions in Zeta for making your own
> weapon, or even for adding verniers to offset the weight penalties...
Nor were there in their blueprint book, Mekton II. Folks, don't
be silly. Zeta is a reworking of the original MII book. Asking for
/too/ much more than was found therein is out of line with what they
intended to deliver.
I might roast RTal for cruddy layout, for typos and errors they
should have caught a year ago, for making gloating references to
Plus and for an overabundance of flash graphics at the expense of
solid work on rectifying errors, but I won't attack them for things
they never promised. We were pretty well told out front that Zeta
was using Mekton II as a blueprint; expectation derived therefrom
are your responsibility, not theirs.
Billy Karren
around complaining about it's problems as soon as I get through it as
well.
Um, since when did R Talsorian NOT have a problem with Type O's? Ever
read the first edition Cyberpunk?
I really wish someone would come up with a Mekton compatible system that
involves star ships that isn't overly simplistic.
Oh, to the guy who really wished they had construction for guns, I'm sure
that MZ+ will have it.
I think that because of space constraints, they had to take some stuff
out of MKZ and put it in MZ+. I'm gonna have to go out and buy MZ+ and
start picking and choosing which rules I prefer where.
bill
Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer
: Thanx everyone for your advice. I picked up Zeta, and I'll be sitting
: well.
: Um, since when did R Talsorian NOT have a problem with Type O's? Ever
: read the first edition Cyberpunk?
Uhh.. Since Mekton Zeta ? I haven't been able to pinpoint any typo's in
previous Mekton products..
: I really wish someone would come up with a Mekton compatible system that
: involves star ships that isn't overly simplistic.
Try Mekton Empire, and if that's too simple, check out my starship rules
in the Mekton net.book.
: Oh, to the guy who really wished they had construction for guns, I'm sure
: that MZ+ will have it.
: I think that because of space constraints, they had to take some stuff
: out of MKZ and put it in MZ+. I'm gonna have to go out and buy MZ+ and
: start picking and choosing which rules I prefer where.
It's just that the split between MZ and MZ+ has caused several people to
lose interest in Mekton because you practically are REQUIRED to buy it to
use Mekton Zeta to its' full potential.
Zeta has got a GREAT character generation sytem, and a great section on
how to roleplayt, but it is sadly lacking in the combat and construction
departments.
--
Jeroen "Mekton II/F95" Braamhaar <tsu...@xs4all.nl>
Sorry, no flashy .sig. Just these two lines.
Dark Horse Walking
>Billy Karren (EWJ...@prodigy.com) wrote:
>: Um, since when did R Talsorian NOT have a problem with Type O's? Ever
>: read the first edition Cyberpunk?
>Uhh.. Since Mekton Zeta ? I haven't been able to pinpoint any typo's in
>previous Mekton products..
Mekton II is riddled with them. "A mekton with an increased powerplant may
be able perform..."
The missing back legs on the Panthercat, etc...
>Zeta has got a GREAT character generation sytem, and a great section on
>how to roleplayt, but it is sadly lacking in the combat and construction
>departments.
>
I don't understand the "skilled but slow" vs. "inexperienced but fast" learning
curve differentiation. It wasn't necessary. Given the increasing IP requirement
for skills, this will happen anyway: lots of skills means they'll all increase fast,
but specializing in one or two means it will take forever to increase them.
And don't get me started on the graphic design. Oy.
-Chris
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When in doubt, bet on a dark horse.
Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer
: In article <3uqe8v$a...@news.xs4all.nl>,
: tsu...@xs1.xs4all.nl (Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games
: Designer) wrote:
: >Billy Karren (EWJ...@prodigy.com) wrote:
: >: Um, since when did R Talsorian NOT have a problem with Type O's? Ever
: >: read the first edition Cyberpunk?
: >Uhh.. Since Mekton Zeta ? I haven't been able to pinpoint any typo's in
: >previous Mekton products..
: Mekton II is riddled with them. "A mekton with an increased powerplant may
: be able perform..."
: The missing back legs on the Panthercat, etc...
D'OH! .. of course... (slaps forehead)
: >Zeta has got a GREAT character generation sytem, and a great section on
: >how to roleplayt, but it is sadly lacking in the combat and construction
: >departments.
: >
: I don't understand the "skilled but slow" vs. "inexperienced but fast" learning
: curve differentiation. It wasn't necessary. Given the increasing IP requirement
: for skills, this will happen anyway: lots of skills means they'll all increase fast,
: but specializing in one or two means it will take forever to increase them.
It was. And the IP system of advancement was the very first thing we
chucked out the door. We work with a differetn (more streamlined) award
system.
Instead of awarding IP, we award SP.
2SP will buy a Level 1 skill.
To increase a skill, you must pay twice the new level in SP.
(Level 9 to 10 = 20SP)
Works a lot better.
"Uuuh.. yeah, you guys all get 15 IP"
"FIFTEEN IP ?? Is that what we worked so hard for ?"
: And don't get me started on the graphic design. Oy.
:^) ..
--
Jeroen Braamhaar <tsu...@xs4all.nl>
Jason Youngberg
loses the IP bonus. My guess is that they were trying to simulate the
same idea in anime with 'the new guy' quickly becomes an ace like his
teachers. It is an intresting idea, but I think there should be limits.
Maybe when a skill reaches a certain level (8 or above) the character
loses the bonus. Given some thought, this suggestion is a bad idea
begging to be abused. How about when the total skill levels reaches
a certain point (50 or so) the character graduates. Personally, I
think there should be a greated bonus to the veterns, more skill
points maybe or even more money and items (perhaps a 'special'
item like a mekton the player designed or an improved or unique
weapon). What do you think should be done?
Tom Harris
|> In an arcane scroll, Alexander Williams quotes the holy scripturist
|> Tom Harris, replying to the mystic words as written, saying:
|>
Cool. I've never been called a holy scripturist before...
And I don't even go to church :)
|> > I think I'll have to agree with Jeroen here... Zeta didn't do
|> > a very good job with starships, or at least I think so. There
|> > weren't *any* Mekton-scale weapons capable of doing damage to
|> > a ship... *^**(& screens. That took the Gundam-style game I was
|> > hopingn straight down the drain...
|>
|> Much as I hate to defend Zeta (believe me), I'll have to, here.
|> Zeta did a far better job with starships than MII did, you must
|> admit. In fact, we get a lot more dirty-grungy-basics in Zeta than
... And I'll admit Zeta was a *HUGE* improvement over Mekton II,
but that's not the point I was trying to make...
|> we did in MII. The fact that the rather abstracted bits we
|> received, especially in starships, were more tightly tied to a
|> certain style of play is inevitable.
|> The style of starship Zeta seems to default to are the ones which
|> resemble nothing so much as Star Wars vessels. Given that, it would
|> be silly for mecha-scale weapons to go sproinging through shields
|> with ease.
Hmm... It looks like I didn't word things quite right. What
I was trying to say is that Zeta isn't quite what you want
if you want a Gundam-style game where individual mecha are
capable of sinking ships. As I recall, one of the major
selling points of Mobile Suits are their capability of carrying
ship-killing weapons.
I agree with you 100%... taking on a ship with a Mekton is
ridiculous with the Zeta rules, unless you are *trying* to
commit suicide. I was just looking for something different...
|>
|> > Also, there weren't any provisions in Zeta for making your own
|> > weapon, or even for adding verniers to offset the weight penalties...
Jeez! My typing is *really* terrible... sorry, everyone...
|>
|> Nor were there in their blueprint book, Mekton II. Folks, don't
Yet there are weapons I've never seen in *either* edition in
the Mecha manual they released. I want to be able to make
those, too! I've since been informed ( by the folks at RTal )
that custom weapons will be covered in Zeta Plus.
|> be silly. Zeta is a reworking of the original MII book. Asking for
|> /too/ much more than was found therein is out of line with what they
|> intended to deliver.
Well, again, it looks like I wasn't saying quite what I
intended. I'm not trying to say that Zeta sucks, because I
like it a great deal. I'm also not trying to get up on a
pedastal and say that it's a failure for not giving me what
I want. I'm a programmer and a student. One person. It would
be ridiculous for me to think RTal would cater to my tastes
exclusively...
The bottom line: I want to be able to ride around in my
Mecha and be able to make an attack on a cruiser/escort
carrier and have a reasonable chance of success.
Mekton Zeta isn't the best game in the world to do that with,
and that's all I wanted to say.
< a few things deleted for brevity...>
|> but I won't attack them for things they never promised.
I wasn't trying to do *that* either. My apologies to anyone
who interpreted my first posting this way.
|> We were pretty well told out front that Zeta
|> was using Mekton II as a blueprint; expectation derived therefrom
|> are your responsibility, not theirs.
I'll try to keep that in mind.
--Tom
< Who's now very worried about his communication skills...>
--
Tom Harris to...@lexis-nexis.com
Lexis-Nexis, Miamisburg, Ohio tha...@ddt.eng.uc.edu
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio tha...@uceng.uc.edu
Waiting for the year 2008 so I can join the U.N. Spacy and fly a VF-1J
Talsorian
>> ridiculous with the Zeta rules, unless you are *trying* to
>> commit suicide. I was just looking for something different...
Well, that might be true, but I've killed ships in playtest with a single
shot (powerplant crits are great for that.) And the CIDS systems have a
limited range, and those big guns have a big minus to hit you.
In playtest, Ships actually ended up on the short end of the stick when
swarmed with mecha. Now, a ship with a cold powerplant... they can be a
pain.
Mike MacDonald.
Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer
: >>I agree with you 100%... taking on a ship with a Mekton is
Best way to defeat MZ spaceship: swarm ship with men with anti-mecha
rocket launchers.
Ship is at -12 to hit, the men can score the megacrits.
"What have you fellows been up to ?"
"Nothing boss, just killed the Super Battleship of the Evil Empire today."
:^)
%NAME%
>: I don't understand the "skilled but slow" vs. "inexperienced but fast"
learning
>: curve differentiation. It wasn't necessary. Given the increasing IP
requirement
>: for skills, this will happen anyway: lots of skills means they'll all
increase fast,
>: but specializing in one or two means it will take forever to increase them.
>
>It was. And the IP system of advancement was the very first thing we
>chucked out the door. We work with a differetn (more streamlined) award
>system.
>
>Instead of awarding IP, we award SP.
>2SP will buy a Level 1 skill.
>To increase a skill, you must pay twice the new level in SP.
>(Level 9 to 10 = 20SP)
>Works a lot better.
>"Uuuh.. yeah, you guys all get 15 IP"
>"FIFTEEN IP ?? Is that what we worked so hard for ?"
>
You didn't like it? I'm curious - what was it you didn't like about it? I
never had a problem with it, myself, but then I tend to tailor the amount of
Skill Points given at character creation to the type of campaign I'm running
(i.e. some large integer multiple of what they give you :) Also, I run a lot
of one-shots where the characters don't really need to increase in skills
meteorically during the story.
How do you hand out IP? I usually take stock of the main skills they used in
the adventure, and award to each accordingly (I find tape recording the
sessions helps so that I don't forget about the one-in-a-million shot that
hits the capital ship's powerplant...)
-Chris (Dark Horse Walking posting
from another machine)
Billy Karren
everyone else's ability to read, and to read between the lines. I often
get this type of thing.
"is it possible to shoot in mekton zeta" (me)
"if you want to shoot a missle in Mekton zeta that you designed yourself,
you will have to wait for Mekton Zeta Plus, and that is such a pain,
because I want to be able to buy one $90 book with all the rules, like
BattleTech and design my own weapons and take down spaceships in a single
punch from my super duper mekton which I translated from palladium, which
is a much worse system, because........" (them)
trust me, these people simply can't read.
Alexander Williams
Tom Harris, replying to the mystic words as written, saying:
> Cool. I've never been called a holy scripturist before...
>
> And I don't even go to church :)
Ah, with the number of holy warriors on UseNet, addressing
everyone as a scripturist seems the safest path, if a bit
evangelical. ;)
> Hmm... It looks like I didn't word things quite right. What
> I was trying to say is that Zeta isn't quite what you want
> if you want a Gundam-style game where individual mecha are
> capable of sinking ships. As I recall, one of the major
> selling points of Mobile Suits are their capability of carrying
> ship-killing weapons.
Very true, but you can move things back toward the Gundamesque
degree of power with a couple of simple rulings. Start with a
simple proscription against screens, ``Shields are out!'' Follow
that by dropping the effectiveness of the crew groups by saying,
unilaterally, that Crew Efficencies are divided by two.
Ship-to-ship combat won't be affected, but ship-to-mech combat
becomes a bit easier for the mechs.
Small changes add some versimilitude to your setting's flavour.
> I agree with you 100%... taking on a ship with a Mekton is
> ridiculous with the Zeta rules, unless you are *trying* to
> commit suicide. I was just looking for something different...
When looking for a change in environ, your best bit is to
locallize the specific area of difficulty and apply the scalpal of
change with great dexterity.
> Yet there are weapons I've never seen in *either* edition in
> the Mecha manual they released. I want to be able to make
> those, too! I've since been informed ( by the folks at RTal )
> that custom weapons will be covered in Zeta Plus.
Zeta Plus, following the blueprint of Mekton II and the Mekton
Technical Suppliment. Admittedly, all we old-timers are spoiled by
having both volumes of old and only the earlier one in the new,
but...
> The bottom line: I want to be able to ride around in my
> Mecha and be able to make an attack on a cruiser/escort
> carrier and have a reasonable chance of success.
>
> Mekton Zeta isn't the best game in the world to do that with,
> and that's all I wanted to say.
So, make the subtle changes necessary to make it so. Another
facet to look into would be declaring G-factor violence only in
place for the enemy suits and ships. Suddenly, one hit can take out
an entire suit, effectively, and one good penetrating hit on a
starship can lead to its detonation.
> < Who's now very worried about his communication skills...>
A few years in /this/ venue and you'll be Winston Churchhill
revisited. ;)
Emery Calame
" Arrrrgh! This be good readin' Matey! (Awwwk! Good readin'! Good
Readin'! Awwwwk!)," he said as the tears of utter joy ran down his old
crusted cheeks, " Tis most beautiful indeed! (Awwk!)," then his pegleg
snapped, throwing him to the deck stunned.
Em
Alexander Williams
>How do you hand out IP? I usually take stock of the main skills they used in
>the adventure, and award to each accordingly (I find tape recording the
>sessions helps so that I don't forget about the one-in-a-million shot that
>hits the capital ship's powerplant...)
Being one of those who are rather sparing with IP distribution at
the best of times, I never really had trouble with the IP system as
it stood either, however, to answer your query...
/I/ usually give out IP ``on the spot,'' as it were, during the
game itself. I seem to tend to give out more reasonable amounts
using such a method (my parsimony is legendary) as opposed to
lump-sum at the end. I also have instituted a 3IP = 1 Temporary
Luck rule that also burns out a few of the IP hoarders.
Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer
: Being one of those who are rather sparing with IP distribution at
: the best of times, I never really had trouble with the IP system as
: it stood either, however, to answer your query...
: /I/ usually give out IP ``on the spot,'' as it were, during the
: game itself. I seem to tend to give out more reasonable amounts
: using such a method (my parsimony is legendary) as opposed to
: lump-sum at the end. I also have instituted a 3IP = 1 Temporary
: Luck rule that also burns out a few of the IP hoarders.
Nice system - gotta remember this one.
Maybe good for a place in the net.book ?
MMDomark
with seperate GM's, one where we were given sparce IP on the spot whenever
we used skills, and the other GM gave us a lump sum at the end of the
adventure, to spend as we pleased.
It took a mature group, but I felt that the latter method led to more
satisfying characters. Finally I could have that 10 skill I wanted in the
beginning! Or AV-Piloting, I may have never used it yet, but I knew I
would be soon.
After the first game of my Zeta Campaign, the awards were 45 points to the
Pros and 90 to the Rookies. Makes for very heroic characters quickly, and
that's what I like in role-playing games!
Matt
Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer
: IP? I shovel it out like water. I played in a two long running 'Punk games
And makes a pain in the ass for the GM later on.
I _KNOW_ most players' ego's inflate with the skills of their character.
Although I hate slow advancing, too fast isn't too good either.
To mind springs a fast-advance campaign that went a bit out of control.
Characters usually went up 1 or 2 leels a session, and when the Big Boss
came around, one (ONE!) player snapped his fingers and took are of him,
while the GM had figured he could hurt, really hurt a few characters.
Shoveling IP out to players is fun, but can backfire hard.
Okay, rookies SHOULD go up like rockets. Just make sure you don't forget
that Abort Mission Button..... :^)
Jeroen "SP beats IP" Braamhaar <tsu...@xs4all.nl>
MMDomark
the
: Pros and 90 to the Rookies. Makes for very heroic characters quickly,
and
: that's what I like in role-playing games!
>>And makes a pain in the ass for the GM later on.
>>I _KNOW_ most players' ego's inflate with the skills of their character.
>>Although I hate slow advancing, too fast isn't too good either.
This could be a problem, but my current Mekton Campaign is scheduled for
only 13 episodes. The current storyline should be resolved by then. At
that time, if the players want it, I run the sequel using a second
generation of characters and start the advancement process all over again.
Very Anime, and it works too...
Matt
Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer
: : After the first game of my Zeta Campaign, the awards were 45 points to
Aha! Now I understand the high awards!
Sorry, should have asked this *before* posting my criticism.
--
Jeroen Braamhaar <tsu...@xs4all.nl>
Author of Battle Shark - Night Runners
Sorry, no flashy .sig. Just these three lines.
Alexander Williams
mystic words as written, saying:
>: lump-sum at the end. I also have instituted a 3IP = 1 Temporary
>: Luck rule that also burns out a few of the IP hoarders.
>
>Nice system - gotta remember this one.
>Maybe good for a place in the net.book ?
Up to Master Shank, but as always, all my posts to rgm are
public-usable for only the price of an email message to me, unless
otherwise marked. :)
Ninstar Cybermage: Black Phoenix Rising
>public-usable for only the price of an email message to me, unless
>otherwise marked. :)
That's SENSEI shank to you 8-). (Rick'm rack'm frug'n ruck) (Yosemite Sam
swearing).
I don't know if there's going to be another Mech Book, or how long it's going
to take, but if it happens, this rule can find it's way in.
Basically, I just started a job, and I'm not sure if I can do it all myself
anymore. Especially when it comes to the possibility of converting to . . .
WAITAMINIT. . . *Grinding of brain gears*. . .
Okay, I hereby announce the creation of Mechabook Zeta. That's it, I'm starting
over. BWa hahahahahahaha.
I dunno. What do you guys think? Do I just keep mechabook 6 as it is and start
the new edition with just zeta stuff? I think I can put out one more MK II
edition before I drop it.
--
Sensei James O Shank Jr.* v131...@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu
AKA: Ninstar Cybermage I or sh...@acsu.buffalo.edu or sh...@cs.buffalo.edu
Black Phoenix Rising... A The compiler of the NET.MEKTON.MECHA.BOOK
XINEOHPAEGAMREBYCRATSNINMONMYWAYBACKTOTHEWAYTHINGSARESUPPOSEDTOBELIFEISGOODYAY
"Anyone with a .sig more than four lines long is a self important fool!"-Marek
"OOPS! 8-)" -Ninstar, on line 7 of his .sig
"Know one Knows what I know. So You know that what I know
is only mine to know!"
Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer
: WAITAMINIT. . . *Grinding of brain gears*. . .
Need some lubrication oil ? :)
: Okay, I hereby announce the creation of Mechabook Zeta. That's it, I'm
: starting over. BWa hahahahahahaha.
: I dunno. What do you guys think? Do I just keep mechabook 6 as it is and start
: the new edition with just zeta stuff? I think I can put out one more MK II
: edition before I drop it.
Wouldn't be a bad idea. There are quite some people (myself included)
that... don't like Zeta, especially the mechanical parts.
--
Jeroen Braamhaar <tsu...@xs4all.nl>
Author of Battle Shark - Night Runners (Worth a read, honestly!)
Emery Calame
Be very sparing with IP, but....
Introduce Shathalian Mind drugs. They quartruple your normal earned
experience, and reduce your pain and anxiety level but.....
They will after the third time you use them force you to role on a
table created by the GM so your character won't go nuts and jump off of
something real tall (like the Great Mazinger) or take his neighbors
hostage. This role is taken every other time you use the drugs. They
also affect your reflexes, intelligence, and attractiveness in a most
negative way. Reflexes permanently lose a point after every three uses
except when under the influence of the drug. Intelligence permanently
loses a point after every fourth use, except when under the influence
of the drug. With beauty/charisma you lose .5 point per use until
you've lost six points or hit 3, whichever comes first. You might
think, " Hey! No problem! I'll use it three times, get a little ugly,
and gain lots of IP with no danger." But....
The second time you use the drugs you take a roll on another GM's table
to see if you are hooked. If you get hooked, every time you fail a
skill test, you'll have to roll to see if you can stop yourself from
buying/requesitioning more as soon as you can, and using it. Oh
yeah...Every time you fail that little will power roll you'll need to
use more to get the old effect. Two doses if you were doing one before,
three if you were doing two, etc. The drugs aren't directly toxic. They
won't kill you. (but they might make you kill yourself, or ruin your
career.) It might be fun to make them slow down your healing rate too.
After a while they could even start to put permanent penalties on your
skills when you aren't using them. Of couse you might be able to buy
back all those permanently lost attribute points if you dry out and
play it straight...If you can. Or you might get some plastic surgery to
counter the effects for a while.
Anyway, it could make the campaign more fun.
Em
Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer
: tsu...@xs1.xs4all.nl (Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer)
: wrote:
: >Best way to defeat MZ spaceship: swarm ship with men with anti-mecha
: > rocket launchers. Ship is at -12 to hit, the men can score the
: megacrits.
: Wait -- if the men are carrying anti-mecha weapons, wouldn't those be
: Mekton-scale weapons? Wouldn't the bonus to hit the only +6 instead of +12
: then?
No - personal scale weapons DESIGNED to attack Mektons .... (Kill Damage)
--
Jeroen Braamhaar <tsu...@xs4all.nl>
Author of Battle Shark - Night Runners
Alexander Williams
words as written, saying:
>That's SENSEI shank to you 8-). (Rick'm rack'm frug'n ruck) (Yosemite Sam
>swearing).
You're lucky I'm out of the 1201 Italy status right at the time
I'd written that or it would have been Magister Shank. :)
>I dunno. What do you guys think? Do I just keep mechabook 6 as it is and start
>the new edition with just zeta stuff? I think I can put out one more MK II
>edition before I drop it.
I think you should merge the two ideas, its the simplest
Occam-looking solution. Simply add a new chapter entitled Zeta
Designs and Rulings or somesuch and keep right on adding on. The
obvious result is that we can have the old designs for inspiration
and new designs for quick-usage. If the original author gets the
itch, he can convert the mechs himself, send it in and you can drop
in a pointer to it. Trivial, low-work-coefficent and everyone wins.
I'm tempted to volunteer to convert the whole thing to Texinfo
and thus to Info, TeX/dvi and HTML format for the next version.
Keep me amused and I will. :)
--
--
tha...@runic.mind.org (Alexander Williams) Crucifer of Questions
MTH/EN S/C* G/N++++ | ``Apostate. Heretic. Savior.''
QH+++++ |``Dimeon Wu has been called all these things.''
Jason Youngberg
was at the same level as the beginning pro's. Yet they will continue to gain the
IP bonus. So when is the line drawn? I was thinking that maybe when a skill reaches
+5, the rookie gets no further bonus. But in the long term it puts pros at a
disadvantage. How did you solve this probelm?
Jason Youngberg
Dutch Anime Otaku Tsunami Wannabe Games Designer
: But when does a rookie become a pro? By the endof your example, the rookies skill
You don't. Or you run limited time campaign, one with a beginning, a
middle and an end.
The other option would (indeed) be to cut the bonus if any skills hit a
certain level.
And about pro's:
Pro's will still be alive after several rookies have died. That's enough
advantage.
Aardvark Dreams
Hello! My name is Ken Hullett. I worked as a designer for Mechwarrior 2 and
am now working on the network addon that should be available around Christmas.
I'm sure lots of the people who have played the game and the head-to-head demo
will have ideas of what they would like to see in the full blown 8-player net
game.
I'm interested in what people want, but I have one request: please don't mail
me. Just discuss it here. I promise to read it. If you can't get over some
need to mail me, please use hullett.usc.edu, not at work. I get enough mail
there already. I check my school account everyday.
Also, most of the common suggestions are already in the works, including:
New mechs, both clan and inner sphere
New weapons and technology
Mission Builder, which MAY be downloadable for free (don't quote me on this)
Customisable clans and logos.
Better story (in the first major add-on, whish also should be available around
christmas)
--
For long you live and high you fly | Kenneth Maxwell Hullett
And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry | hul...@usc.edu
And all you touch and all you see | khul...@activision.com
Is all your life will ever be... - from "Breathe in the Air" by Pink Floyd
Joe Cygan
:Hello! My name is Ken Hullett. I worked as a designer for Mechwarrior 2 and
:am now working on the network addon that should be available around Christmas.
:I'm sure lots of the people who have played the game and the head-to-head demo
:will have ideas of what they would like to see in the full blown 8-player net
:game.
:I'm interested in what people want, but I have one request: please don't mail
:etc., etc.
I would like some sort of team concept to be employed. With point tracking,
tonnage progression, etc. Of course, this is in addition to an 8 way free
for all. But, the team stuff would give way to some great challenge
matches down at work! :-]
joe
Grebo Guru
1) Each use of a skill (skill roll) grants 1 IP to that skill.
2) Each use of a skill (skill roll) which is a critical success grants 2
IP to that skill.
3) Each use of a skill (skill roll) which is a critical failure grants 0
IP to that skill.
4) These numbers, of course, are doubled for Rookies.
5) At the end of each session, the Ref gives each player a "roleplaying
doggie treat" of 1 to 10 extra IP (essentially, a "grade" of their
roleplaying that session) to assign to whatever skills they like.
It works very, very well. In my current campaign, the 2 Pros went into
basic merc training with +4 or so in piloting, the 2 Rookies with +0. By
the end of the training, the 2 Pros had +5 Piloting or so, the Rookies had
+4 already. I eagerly await what actual missions will bring...
Grebo Guru
wrote:
>Best way to defeat MZ spaceship: swarm ship with men with anti-mecha
> rocket launchers. Ship is at -12 to hit, the men can score the
megacrits.
Wait -- if the men are carrying anti-mecha weapons, wouldn't those be
Mekton-scale weapons? Wouldn't the bonus to hit the only +6 instead of +12
then?
Hmmm...
PRoPaGaNDiST
besides that, I would REALLY like to see TCP/IP support on a client
server basis, this would enable use to play 8-player NetMech at full
speed over the net. Peer to peer would be the next best, but for that you
can use kali anyway. Considering the number of people who are connected
to the internet at highspeed through DOS(There are a lot, companies
college's, ISDN home user's etc) it would be nice to see this. It would
also beat quake as the first game to support server-client TCPIP
support..
Aardvark Dreams (hul...@girtab.usc.edu) wrote:
: Hello! My name is Ken Hullett. I worked as a designer for Mechwarrior 2 and
: am now working on the network addon that should be available around Christmas.
: I'm sure lots of the people who have played the game and the head-to-head demo
: will have ideas of what they would like to see in the full blown 8-player net
: game.
: I'm interested in what people want, but I have one request: please don't mail
: me. Just discuss it here. I promise to read it. If you can't get over some
: need to mail me, please use hullett.usc.edu, not at work. I get enough mail
: there already. I check my school account everyday.
: Also, most of the common suggestions are already in the works, including:
: New mechs, both clan and inner sphere
: New weapons and technology
: Mission Builder, which MAY be downloadable for free (don't quote me on this)
: Customisable clans and logos.
: Better story (in the first major add-on, whish also should be available around
: christmas)
: --
: For long you live and high you fly | Kenneth Maxwell Hullett
: And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry | hul...@usc.edu
: And all you touch and all you see | khul...@activision.com
: Is all your life will ever be... - from "Breathe in the Air" by Pink Floyd
--
-PRoPaGaNDiST
Fran L Brazeal
On 3 Aug 1995, Aardvark Dreams wrote:
> Also, most of the common suggestions are already in the works, including:
> New mechs, both clan and inner sphere
> New weapons and technology
How about changing the ER PPC from a ball, to a bolt that moves extremly=20
quick, or at least have it as an option to turn off and on, for those who=
=20
have never played btech or read any novels the ball for Er PPC is fine,=20
but for those of us who have played since God was a child :), it is man=20
made lightning, that should be some kind of bolt and moving at light=20
speed (well fast on the computer :) please sir.
> Mission Builder, which MAY be downloadable for free (don't quote me on th=
is)
We hope :)
> Customisable clans and logos.
In the name of that cool sports caster woaaaaah nelly, you mean you are=20
going to let people create there own clans? You could use the 17 clans=20
that are left if you want to add more, ( Invading Clans Sourcebook ) has=20
them in it, this is JUST my opnion though i do not know how other feel=20
about this but making new clans, i would think that would get you a ToA=20
(Trial of Anihlation<sp?>
> Better story (in the first major add-on, whish also should be available a=
round
> christmas)
>=20
Great job on the game! we can not stress this enough it rocks the=20
house!!! I know the first statement is shared, i am not sure about my=20
other question i will make a new post about if someone tried to create=20
there own clan and we can see how others feel.
Tas
=FE=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=
=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D=FE
=FE 3033 Khan Tasslehoff Tseng Clan Ghost Bear =FE
=FE 3040 2nd Battalion Commander Tasslehoff Gregg's LongStriders =FE
=FE 3056 Sibcadet Tasslehoff Clan Jade Falcon (Back Home) =FE
=FE 3065 Tasslehoff -- Raijin Pilot =FE
=FE=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=
=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D=FE
Charles Randolph Hunter
>On 3 Aug 1995, Aardvark Dreams wrote:
>> Also, most of the common suggestions are already in the works, including:
>> New mechs, both clan and inner sphere
>> New weapons and technology
>How about changing the ER PPC from a ball, to a bolt that moves extremly
>quick, or at least have it as an option to turn off and on, for those who=
>
>have never played btech or read any novels the ball for Er PPC is fine,
>but for those of us who have played since God was a child :), it is man
>made lightning, that should be some kind of bolt and moving at light
>speed (well fast on the computer :) please sir.
Ever hear of Ball lightning? Look it up in a Science book. 8-)
PLEASE Keep PPC blasts the way they are. From a game point of view
[outside of Battletech] we already have so many other "light" weapons...
The PPC "Ball" looks good.
My comments to add...
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE put in more Inner Sphere support
I, and many many people I know are SOOOOOOOOOOO sick of the clans...
It would just be nice to gain back the old perspective. After all, we *all*
know that the only reason most people play the Clans in the first place
was better technology.
-- Charles Hunter
( Proud to be a "Freebirth" )
P.S. not to mention all other weapons in the Compendium that were left out
plus hand to hand combat, LAMs etc...
Fran L Brazeal
> Ever hear of Ball lightning? Look it up in a Science book. 8-)
Yes i have in fact in a previous post i tried to defend it by saying it=20
could be what i called chain lightning because i could not think of the=20
correct way the phenomenom<sp> was called.
> PLEASE Keep PPC blasts the way they are. From a game point of view
> [outside of Battletech] we already have so many other "light" weapons...
> The PPC "Ball" looks good. =20
But it is NOT coherent with the way it is written in the novels, add the=20
option, or speed it up ball lightning is still not something you see for=20
very long, the Er PPC 'ball' you see for forever. It is toooooo slow.
> PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE put in more Inner Sphere support
I agree
> It would just be nice to gain back the old perspective. After all, we *al=
l*
> know that the only reason most people play the Clans in the first place
> was better technology.
>=20
Most not all :) some of us actually like the idea of what the clans stand=
=20
for.=20
Blairs
Great to see you here! First off, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do the following:
1. Allow people to join and leave in the middle of a netgame - i.e.
Descent, NOT DOOM.
2. Allow us to use custom 'mechs in the games. It scared me when the
demo only had the stocks as options....
3. Allow selection from a list on the Mech Designer - if you add more
mechs (Why not all of 'em? 3d rendering isn't easy, granted, but at
least one mech from each weight class. I want my 25 tonner! :) then
we'll have to click, click, click for a few minutes just to get to the
mech we want. If I could just click on the name of the chassis, then
have a sublist of configurations show up, that'd be great.
Thanks!
Paul.
--
Stephen, Ann, & Paul Blair bl...@teleport.com
The T H R E E Blairs Home: 1 503 653 5901
Milwaukie, OR A M O P R O B O S
Darrin Lee Bright
Aardvark Dreams <hul...@girtab.usc.edu> wrote:
>Also, most of the common suggestions are already in the works, including:
>New mechs, both clan and inner sphere
>New weapons and technology
>Customisable clans and logos.
>christmas)
Get rid of auto-centering, and fix the right arm/torso problem. And don't
give us any bullshit about it, either. I see 100 to 150 posts here a day
complaining about joystick centering and losing right arms. Fix it and be
done with it.
--
"Uh...yeah, I uh... suck blood all the time..." - The Tick
--
* * * Darrin Bright - Duck Ezra - Muse of Tedium * * *
= = ============================================ = =
Keith Marsh
once they pass the professionals in level are they not better than the
professional and a professional themselves. They will live a very long
time while the professionals start to die around them. I have run a game
for awhile now and the rookies have almost past the professionals and
most of them are still alive.
Armour
Aardvark Dreams
>2. Allow us to use custom 'mechs in the games. It scared me when the
>demo only had the stocks as options....
You should be able to use custom mechs in the netdemo. You have to make them
in the main game shell, but they should be available if you flip through the
configurations.
Aardvark Dreams
Darrin Lee Bright <dbr...@cymbal.aix.calpoly.edu> wrote:
>Get rid of auto-centering, and fix the right arm/torso problem. And don't
>give us any bullshit about it, either. I see 100 to 150 posts here a day
>complaining about joystick centering and losing right arms. Fix it and be
>done with it.
Fuck you too.
When I posted here I had hoped to get some constructive, usefull comments from
some experienced gamers. So far the quality of responses has been abysmal.
I especially don't pointless, bashing posts like this.
I don't really have any control over these things, but I do what I can to get
problems I find fixed.
If there is a bug, why don't you tell me what it is? I've never had a problem
with my right arm.
I admit that the joystick auto-center thing should have been an option, but if
you don't like it, try playing with the keyboard or the mouse. Mouse is the
best thing to use short of the full thrustmaster/weapons control/rudder pedal
combo anyways.
PRoPaGaNDiST
>
>In article <3vtipe$23...@cymbal.aix.calpoly.edu>,
>Darrin Lee Bright <dbr...@cymbal.aix.calpoly.edu> wrote:
>>Get rid of auto-centering, and fix the right arm/torso problem. And don't
>>give us any bullshit about it, either. I see 100 to 150 posts here a day
>>complaining about joystick centering and losing right arms. Fix it and be
>>done with it.
>
>Fuck you too.
>
>When I posted here I had hoped to get some constructive, usefull comments from
>some experienced gamers. So far the quality of responses has been abysmal.
was being a little aggresive is that every time someone posts about it,
no one from Activision replies, the one time that Tim did, he said that
he hadn't run into it yet... but so far, I haven't seen a single copy
that doesn't have the bug.. I'm guessing that you guys(being the programmers)
are running a diffrent version from us..
>If there is a bug, why don't you tell me what it is? I've never had a problem
>with my right arm.
with almost no exceptions.. it is impossible for the left to be destroyed
before the right. Try installing the retail version of the game and playing
for an hour or so, it should become apparent pretty quickly...
>you don't like it, try playing with the keyboard or the mouse. Mouse is the
>best thing to use short of the full thrustmaster/weapons control/rudder pedal
>combo anyways.
As far as stuff that I would like to see in the DOS netmech add-on-
1.TCP/IP support, working on a server-client basis... although we could use
kali, and assuming that it would work decently(if it is anything like descent)
the max number of players would probabley be between 3-5(estimate) if the
networking was done on an server client basis, you could do 8 players at 14.4
which would definteley boost the popularity of the game. It would also get a
jump on quake, which will be featuring tcp/ip support.
2.Traditional and Loose play(or something) in traditional play, the honor you
receive at the end of a mission would be based on the tonnage of the mech you
used.. wheter or not you followed RoE and if you did anything dishonorable.
Loose play would be "anything goes" honor would have no relevance here and
your score would be based strictly upon kills..
3.A good network interface, like descent's with the option(set before play)
to let anyone join in. The networking stuff should be controlled within the
game and not from some outside prog like DOOM/ROTT/TV etc...
4.Historical scenario's from the Fasa books,all of the mechs would be
controlled by players, with ground units etc. controlled by the comp, this
would add a lot more replayability than just standard deathmatch.
Besides that, it would be nice to have it be compatible with the M&T add-on,
otherwise people will whine for a patch after M&T comes out..
-PRoPaGaNDiST
to...@well.com
>I'm sure lots of the people who have played the game and the head-to-head demo
>will have ideas of what they would like to see in the full blown 8-player net
>game.
One thing that's likely technically possible, and would be really cool
is to use the Soundblaster's microphone as a radio- instead of typing
your messages to your buddies, hit a key, speak, then hit another key
to send. I know that the SB won't listen to the mike while it's
playing, so you've gotta shut down the music while the mike is open,
but hey, I can live with that.
If you did minimal sampling, and sent the packet down to the other net
players, it could come out on thier speakers, like radio.
Todd++;
Robert Redman
>A short time ago, at a computer terminal far, far, away, Aardvark Dreams wrote:
>>Hello! My name is Ken Hullett. I worked as a designer for Mechwarrior 2 and
>>am now working on the network addon that should be available around Christmas.
>Cool, thanks for posting!
>>I'm sure lots of the people who have played the game and the head-to-head demo
>>will have ideas of what they would like to see in the full blown 8-player net
>>game.
>Well, since many other posts are addressing things that could be
>changed or added to the general game, or the simulation engine, I'll
>just address things I'd like to see _specific to the net game_.
>I'd like to see four modes of net-play -
>(1) Free for all, of course, with an option to re-spawn. This is one
>thing I'm really wishing for right now with the netdemo. My opponent
>and I usually end up killing each other pretty quick, and then we have
>to go back to the shell and start it all over again. There could be
>the regular point keeping, or kill scores. Like Descent.
>(2) Team play, with the ability to have _more than two teams_. So
>that, say, 8 players could form opposing teams of 3, 3, and 2. Lots
>of strategy possible there. That's one reason Bolo was a very popular
>net game at school - you could form teams on-the-fly in the game.
>Pretty slick. :) If you needed a limit for the number of teams that
>players could form, I think 4 would be a reasonable maximum.
>(3) Team play vs. the computer. The popular "cooperative" game is a
>must. Killing your friends only goes so far, and then you start
>wanting to work together to kill someone _else_. :) This is also
>really good for two-player modem (or net, for that matter) games, as
>one-on-one gets old when it's your only option.
>(4) Team play _with_ the computer. This is another GREAT option for
>modem-gaming, or when you only have one net opponent. Battle your
>opponent star-vs-star! Each of you leads a star filled-out with
>computer-piloted mechs. Which one of you has the best lance-level
>tactics? I don't know if there's any other game that offers this
>type of net-play, but this would be very cool. This is another thing
>I find myself wishing for while playing the net-demo, and again I think
>it'd be _GREAT_.
Yeah, but one more is needed.
A capture the flag type game with teams, that would be great!
Roth
AEStout
1. The rules approach. Do what the rulebook says, by the numbers.
2. The realistic(?), fun approach. Role-play it out and introduce some
reality-based ideas. A ship with a hull value of 500 Kills means the
ENTIRE SHIP has 500 K. So why can't a mecha blow a mecha-sized hole
through the hull by doing 20 K damage and then fly through the ship, into
the engine room and unload on the ship's reactor? Also, who says the CIDL
technology is automatic?
Maybe ships don't have CIDL and have to depend on mecha for defense. So,
take
out the ship's mecha cover, then go after the ship!
Neat, eh?
"Think I'll go for a swim" --Rand
Marc Delsoin
mind that ther should be a way for people to know if the other person is
using a non standard mech. Sort of the way Battle Drome has you negotiate
a battle... this way the other person may not know what is on the other
mech but he knows it's not standard like the one he may be using..
Just a method of keeping things fair. :)
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Gary Eastham
Suggestions for net play:
1) Have the map divided into quadrants so that scout mechs can feed these
back to the fire/support/assault mechs. In the heat of battle, it would be
difficult
for the star commander to remember where the scouts are without this.
For example, a scout mech could 'radio' back that enemy mechs have been
spotted at coords x=? y=?. Also indirect fire with spotter mechs would
be nice.
2) Have special tactical information available in the star commander's mech.
For example, a 'see through' overhead grid map that can be dynamically
zoomed to provide situational awareness. The see through map would allow
the commander to continue fighting *while* reviewing the map.
3) IFF key. Need a way to reduce friendly fire.
4) Have team mechs show as different colors on the tactical map. Also, call
signs attached to each colored 'blip' would help as well.
5) Include the ability for an MFD display to views other team members mechs
through their cockpit. For example, I send a Firemoth on a scout mission.
The firemoth spotted an enemy convoy and radios back with the coords. If
I want a comprehensive assessment of the escort forces, then I just download
the live feed from the firemoth's cockpit onto a small MFD.
6) Functional firebases were the mechs can enter bays and resupply munitions.
The bases can have gates that would protect a mech will a hot load was in
progress.
All for now,
Gary
Chris Doherty
The ship may be at -12 to hit them - with ship scale weapons. So the ship has
lots of little anti-personnel batteries. Add to that the fact that somehow you
have to get your infantry from here to there, and you still get the most effective
way to attack a ship - a mobile suit. Well enough armored to take a hit or two
from point defense weapons, large enough to carry ship-damaging weaponry,
small and nimble enough to avoid Really Big Cannon fire.
-Chris
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When in doubt, bet on a dark horse.
Rayme C. Vinson (RC)
Listen to these guys, Activision. Those modes would be awsome!
(but I don't think you should take too long to come out with
these enhancments, many couldn't take the extra agrivation. :)
Pleas follow through with these changes, guys. MW2 is the reason
I finally broke down and ordered a 586/100. (and I haven't even
bought the game yet! It ain't in Juneau yet...*sob*)
Klaus Breuer
>Hello! My name is Ken Hullett. I worked as a designer for Mechwarrior 2 and
>am now working on the network addon that should be available around Christmas.
>Also, most of the common suggestions are already in the works, including:
>New mechs, both clan and inner sphere
>New weapons and technology
Nice - any pointers which ones?
>Mission Builder, which MAY be downloadable for free (don't quote me on this)
Very nice, too! Randomize function? MapMaker?
>Customisable clans and logos.
Eeerrrr...nice thought, but what for?
>Better story (in the first major add-on, whish also should be available around
>christmas)
Who cares about the story, let's nuke some Mechs :)
Klaus "Heat Level Critical" Breuer
*Beep* "Critical hit - MS Windows destroyed. CEF increased by 47%"
---
Klaus Breuer, Rudelsweiher Str. 6b, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
"Geez, I need a *reason* for everything?" -- Calvin
"Should I or shouldn't I? Too late, I did!" -- Hobbes
Brent Chambers
>Listen to this man...robert.redman@chrysalis.org (Robert Redman) wrote:
>>wil...@rom.oit.gatech.edu (Will Day) wrote:
>>>A short time ago, at a computer terminal far, far, away, Aardvark Dreams wrote:
>>>>am now working on the network addon that should be available around Christmas.
>>>>I'm sure lots of the people who have played the game and the head-to-head demo
>>>>will have ideas of what they would like to see in the full blown 8-player net
>>>>game.
>>>Well, since many other posts are addressing things that could be
>>>changed or added to the general game, or the simulation engine, I'll
>>>just address things I'd like to see _specific to the net game_.
>>>I'd like to see four modes of net-play -
>>>(1) Free for all, of course, with an option to re-spawn. This is one
<snip>
>>Yeah, but one more is needed.
>>A capture the flag type game with teams, that would be great!
>>
>>Roth
>
>Listen to these guys, Activision. Those modes would be awsome!
>(but I don't think you should take too long to come out with
>these enhancments, many couldn't take the extra agrivation. :)
<snip>
IMHO:
These ideas sound awesome. I would like to add that I think you should
be able to run missions in multi-human mode also. A mission with one
team guarding, and one team attacking; tally the points, then switch
roles and give it another go. I can count exactly two out of 10
multiplayer games that I own, that allow the human players to team up
against the computer. (I'm sure more exist, so dont give me grief :) My
point is that human VS human is great, but its nice to have some variety.
Especially if you cant find people who will play against you because they
die to quick (teehee :) As far as being slow, I think you guys did a
great job with MW2 and I can't thank Tim enough for saving it. These
enhancements will be a great addition (along with a joystick patch) to an
already awesome game. Take your time and do the multiplayer addition
right. Thanks for an outstanding game.
Brent
Rick Jones
>wil...@rom.oit.gatech.edu (Will Day) wrote:
>>A short time ago, at a computer terminal far, far, away, Aardvark Dreams wrote:
>>>Hello! My name is Ken Hullett. I worked as a designer for Mechwarrior 2 and
>>>am now working on the network addon that should be available around Christmas.
>Yeah, but one more is needed.
>A capture the flag type game with teams, that would be great!
>Roth
I don't know if anyone mentioned this yet on this thread, but I am
really wanting a way to send messages to my opponent and vice versa.
I only have 1 phone line and half the time I'm not sure if he's locked
up or just lurking, waiting for ME to move first.
rhr...@vaxd.isc.rit.edu
>Fuck you
>When I posted here I had hoped to get some constructive, usefull comments from
>some experienced gamers. So far the quality of responses has been abysmal.
>
>
>I don't really have any control over these things, but I do what I can to get
>problems I find fixed.
>
>with my right arm.
>
>you don't like it, try playing with the keyboard or the mouse. Mouse is the
>best thing to use short of the full thrustmaster/weapons control/rudder pedal
>combo anyways.
>
>For long you live and high you fly | Kenneth Maxwell Hullett
>And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry | hul...@usc.edu
>And all you touch and all you see | khul...@activision.com
>Is all your life will ever be... - from "Breathe in the Air" by Pink Floyd
Wait a minute. Comeon now. I know that there is lot of bad bashing posts like
it but sending back a reply like that is not a proper way to answer back or you
will make the Activision look bad.
I like the game and enjoyed it. Kenneth, we are trying to give more
constructive comments but once more people got to find out the problems and
find it not exactly confirms to the Btech standards... we tend to get high
strung on it. But then again... that is the public relations part. Anyway...
but is it possible to update the code to correct the right arm and torso so it
would be random instead of that to be first to go? So it would confirm to the
standards and make it even more playable. Try and see if you can add it into
the update release for the addon missions that I heard about along with
Internet connection system. That would help Activision and make everyone happy.
Try and see if you can do that buddy.
Hmmm... here is other suggestions that we can offer. How about adding more
clans warfare or mix in some InnerSphere combat in it... like FC and DC raids
engagements with Clan Jade Falcons, and Steel Vipers on one side and Clan Nova
Cats and Ghost Bears on the other side? That would be fun and make it real
intersting fights to fight against the IS technology and their greater numbers.
How about it?
I sure we all agree on this. Let hear from you on this... If you can send by
Email... it is much better for I find it hard to wade though 800 posts per week
on this.
James M. Sampers
>
> "Rayme C. Vinson (RC)" <RVI...@ptialaska.net> wrote:
>>>wil...@rom.oit.gatech.edu (Will Day) wrote:
>>>>A short time ago, at a computer terminal far, far, away, Aardvark Dreams wrote:
>>>>>Hello! My name is Ken Hullett. I worked as a designer for Mechwarrior 2 and
>>>>>am now working on the network addon that should be available around Christmas.
>>>>>will have ideas of what they would like to see in the full blown 8-player net
>>>>>game.
I just wanted to add that the ability to run a network game with only one
CD-ROM drive would be a nice little added feature as well.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|James M. Sampers | "The future, whatever else it may be, is always |
|sam...@norand.com | infintely, flagrantly, more peculiarly strange than|
|(mic...@iastate.edu) | the products of our imagination." - William Gibson |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Micah Reese
>Fran L Brazeal <bra...@tenet.edu> writes:
>
>
>
>>On 3 Aug 1995, Aardvark Dreams wrote:
>
>>> New mechs, both clan and inner sphere
>
>>How about changing the ER PPC from a ball, to a bolt that moves extremly
>>quick, or at least have it as an option to turn off and on, for those who=
>>
>>have never played btech or read any novels the ball for Er PPC is fine,
>>but for those of us who have played since God was a child :), it is man
>>made lightning, that should be some kind of bolt and moving at light
>>speed (well fast on the computer :) please sir.
>
>[outside of Battletech] we already have so many other "light" weapons...
>The PPC "Ball" looks good.
I agree. Also, the PPC is much more powerful than the lasers, etc. so there
has to be some drawback to using it besides the heat. With a slow moving PPC,
it's more difficult to hit a target.
P.S. My favorite config - Dire wolf with 10 PPCs.
C-ya
Micah
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