Welcome to Mecha Monday! Here we dedicate ourselves to mecha RPGs, war games, and board games alike. Here we start games, tell campaign stories, share resources & assets, and seek advice for our games and homebrew.Assorted Mecha Goodness:https://pastebin.com/E2wi55AZPrevious Thread: >>92587571Thread Question: Is it better when mecha can fly or when they have to walk?Thread Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-9Jy0yl8xY [Embed]
HG4e releases to non-backers this week
Anyone ever played Hardwar?
Some new vidsTTS BatRep -https://www.youtube.com/live/_RylA2ODL3I?si=PF9eX_EcDAmal8qk2nd round of the HG2 tourneyhttps://www.youtube.com/live/Leoy08B__YY?si=hDaNHwEqltvTZK7c
>>92715076No, but the designs look neat. Thanks for the heads-up.
I hate how HG has reduced the New Coalition to Port Arthur and Friends.This is an equatorial league that absorbed several cities states in the Second Polar War period. And it gets no mention except KDA duellists and MILCA occupies that city despite nothing changing since Life on Terra Nova 2E.
>>92715822>I hate how HG has reduced the New Coalition to Port Arthur and Friends.Always has been. NuCoal fanboyism has always been based on pure headcanon.
>>92715822NuCoal was literally always Port Arthur and Friends, Perfect Storm tried to argue that it wasn’t but it was stupid Also Lance Point isn’t occupied anymore
anyone recommend bcg (or that bcs demo)? i know its one of the Big Ones, but ive got players interested in more super robot type stuff than your mekton or lancer fare. anyone big on it?
>>92715076Its alright for what it is, a fast play no frills combined arms mech game. It was based off of Horizon Wars with more customization and content for units. Have no idea how it compares to the new edition of Horizon Wars but Hard War is a fun little game thats easy to play and teach. The minis are good but over priced as fuck.
>>92717321I've played it, it's really good
>>92714895I like it when they're big and heavy on the ground. But don't mind flying mechs in zero g environments
>>92717171Did they retcon Enerch joining NuCoal?I found the plot books they put out a bit useless for making adventures from and the blitz material even worse for dates and events.
>>92714895They should absolutely crush the ground beneath them
>>92721882No that still happened, but the specifics of everything that was introduced in the Blitz books should be treated as rumor at best, they constantly contradicted themselves and made no senseWe should have a blog post clearing some of this stuff up in a few weeks
>>92714895>Is it better when mecha can fly or when they have to walk?I feel like flying is a bit overkill but jet assisted hovering is good. I just don't want mech to get all the way into the stratosphere.
>>92715655Canonize this CGL you cowards
TQ: nah, they gotta walk. If thry fly, ot's best delegated to extremely limited jump jets.
>>92715655Lol.
>>92724622NOW HOL UP THERE
Considering starting a Mecha game set in the One Year War of Gundam. Is Mekton Zeta the clear best system for this?
>>92730111Barbe-tier art>>92730246I mean if you want to use Mekton then use the Gundam Senki rules changes
>>92724622Aliens first
My core book came in the mail today. Stoked to finally be able to flip back and forth through the book without loading
>>92732444I can’t believe we actually managed to ship before Battletech did
>>92730246Currently. I'm working on a better mech RPG than mekton, because it's basically a tactics simulator with very little rules for anything of the other stuff that mecha anime is about, meaning if the players have no imagination, you're literally going to be doing nothing but combat scenarios, which is more common than you'd think. Also Gundam Senki uses 2d6 which makes skill way too overpowered mechanically Most games become WAY too easy, although you can sort of fix that, but not really? My main problem with mekton is that there is basically no point where a standard grunt will ever come to even contesting an ace pilot, which is pretty sad. There's ways to fix this, but I'm making my own game just cause I like mass combat, and mekton is horrible for mass combat beyond 5 mechs (I got pretty fast with it), which is what you need to get any sort of balance between grunts and experts. Odds for someone with a +5 modifier.+5 To hit Senki (2d6): 9/10 Zeta(1d10): 17/20 1d20: 7/10+5 To dodgeSenki(2d6): 19/20 Zeta(1d10): 9/10 1d20: 73.65%+5 Isn't even close to the limit, but about what you can expect starting out against normal players if your players use point buy. TL;DR if you use 1d10 or 2d6, expect your ace pilots to get hit once per 10 (or 20 in the case of Senki's) shots. This is in a game balanced around weapons that can one or two shot enemy mechs. There's rules for it. Called shot torso. -2 to hit. +7 modifier drops to +5?
>>92715655Where does one procure the stl for this Hottest Dog?
>>92732642The age of the gearhead has come at last
>>92733251Hardware Studios, found it while mistakenly browsing it in place of Hardwar.
>>92715655>giant hot dogWelcome to the club!
>>92736772>tex
Is there anything that fits in the niche of Mekton Zeta's in-depth mecha building but a little more streamlined and with a better core system?
>>92738432Silhouette is the obvious answer if you don’t mind needing a calculator but I always liked BRP too
Why is it so hard to find art of human shaped mechs with the weapons built into the machine rather than like, an upscaled gun held in the hands? Hunting art for custom mechs in BT is painful.
My copy of Heavy Gear arrived today, boys. Big, hefty, beautiful. I am very happy.
At what size does something go from power armor to a mecha? Scopedog size?
>>92739741Power armor are defined as mecha whether you like it or not.But to answer the spirit of your question, what’s the difference between a suit and a vehicle? That.
>>92731587If Star Control got anything right, it was that Aliens should be ALIEN. And not just in terms of appearance either.
>>92740460>>92739741Power Armour is something you wear, if it becomes big enough that you're piloting it, then it's now a mech.Power Armour is mech adjacent, but it's not a mech per-se. It's sort of like how Spiders aren't TECHNICALLY insects, but in a war between man and insect would side with the insects.
>>92714895>Is it better when mecha can fly or when they have to walk?I like it when they have to fucking RUN.
>>92714895>Is it better when mecha can fly or when they have to walk?I can see both having its uses in certain situations
>>92739741You wear a suit.You pilot (drive) a mech.>>92736772Always thought the hunchie's cockpit looked beyond silly
>>92743795I can see how a human would fit in it so compared to other battlemechs it’s not hat bad
What are each Gundam AU's unique tech/science?
>>92744933G: Mobile trace systemWing: ZERO systemX: The moon laserSEED: Phase shift armor00: Trans-AmAGE: Idk I didn’t watch itIBO: Alayna-Vinjana G-Witch: GUND format
Heavy Gear 4e is now officially out for non-backershttps://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/457450
these threads are dead
>>92747991It probably would help if it was properly in the title. I barely found it today.
>>92747991Wish I could contribule but I've been so no-games forever now. Hopefully I could get a session going in the future.
>>92748180I never remember to add the title and I’m the only person who makes new threads, when I wait for someone else to do it the thread dies
This thread is so dead nobody will see this spoiler
>>92751509Ninja Jim?
>>92751719You could say that
>>9274799190% of active mecha pickup games are just battletech, and while I'd rather spend a day in hell than actually hang out in that general, it's like any thread that's clearly tertiary to the most popular thing.
>>92748548Then stop making these threads and leave it to somebody who will remember
are there any good space combat mecha games i can use gunpla in?
>>92755092Mechastellar, everything else is too small scale
>>92714895>Is it better when mecha can fly or when they have to walk?As a deafult? Walk, but despite that my favorite mechs are still the Macross Valkyrie and the Rick Dias.
Made a quick TL of Uncle HG's Heavy Gear Relations pic
>>92757629This is pretty great
>>92757629Chibbi jerboa erotic, uuuuuuuuuuoooooooohhhhhh
>>92757629>>92758478NuCoal is so hot, i'm gonna choom. All of their designs, uooooohhhh.
>>92757629>Our diverse way of life is superior!>(just don't criticize the gov)Kek, too true
>>92757629There's nothing to criticize about perfection.
So the HG4E PHB just came.out yesterday. Huzzah!
>>92759476We got any links?
What are the best mecha "adventure" modules, regardless of system? Having a hard time finding anything, let alone anything that isn't a straight line of combat encounters.
>>92759803See>>92746546
>>92759803We have some DP9 employees who hang out around here so don’t check the OP carefully or ask the Share Thread.
>>92744933For AGE there's a few of note:>AGE System It's a learning computer that in addition to containing all of the MCs families knowledge of MS design also collects combat data & grows alongside its pilot. So each is unique to a given pilot (only Gundams have it ofc). The system uses this data to cook up upgrade ideas and sends them to the AGE Builder (a sort of automated factory) which then creates optional gear for the Gundam to use for specific types of missions. This is where the Titus, Spallow, Razor, etc variants all come from.>DODS (Drill-Orbital Discharge System) Special type of beam weapons that fire the beam spinning like a drill to increase penetration. The AGE system invented it.>Electromagnetic ArmorAntagonists use this. It makes their armor block energy weapon attacks by emitting a field just over the armor.
>>92760554I don’t really give a shit if you pirate the PDF as long as you eventually pay up if you like it and back the kickstarters
>>92757629And here's same for the CEF's armies
>>92761908Besto faction Eden, cutest mechs, cutest mongrels made with genetically engineered animals. You can do whatever you want with them minus stop the knight larping and killing the mech production.
>>92760307Operation Jungle Drums for Heavy Gear, I guess? It really is slim pickings.
>>92762317I love how the only two reactions to Eden I've seen are "these guys are so silly, they don't fit in the setting" and "these guys are so silly, I love them"
>>92761908Poor Caprice doesn't know his colonial brothers well
what happened to the guy making the furry anime mecha game
The pastebin doesn’t have any of the Palladium Robotech stuff, anyone know where to find that
>>92762317It makes me sad that "war crimes" isn't a skill we can use for HG
IIRC Jotunheim and New Jerusalem are the only two unconquered colonies, right? For NJ there were mass mutinies reported before the fleet went missing, and Jotunheim... simply destroyed the fleet that was sent to them?Also, is there any news of the Prime Knights in the new lore? I didn't see anything in the 4e book.
Embryo Machine TRPG has been released (by a certain rice farming anon, as 'e says so himself)
>>92770693Nice, any link?
>>92770885>>92771281
>>92770693Oh fuckin sweet! Source?
>>92771326Thanks, I'll be sure to check this out later
>>92770450NJ and Jotenheim are the only completely unconquered ones, but TN and Atlantis are both stalematesFor Prime Knight stuff, read parts of the New Jerusalem article series
>>92771423Got a link to them? I haven't been following the lore too closely and only remember bits and pieces.
>>92714895Don't really see the point of mecha floating about in space vs boarding station hulls etc beyond rule of cool. To me their main redeeming feature vs other vehicles is leveraging human spatial intuitions which is useless in space and dubious in flight (just plug someone into an ornithopter). That said some humanoid hulk floating mid-air taps into otherworldy Clarketech vibes real good.>>92740460Whether the pilot's limbs are inside their PA/Mech counterparts does it for me. Sure, you might mo-cap a la Pacific Rim at almost any scale but in smaller rigs the motions are augmented rather than re-interpreted. As >>92740691 says it's ultimately semantics though given irl feuding between defense branches over such things it'd be interesting to see feuds between tankers and infantry in future militaries.
>>92771430Here’s a link to one of them that mentions the PKs directly https://www.dp9community.com/gear-up-blog/the-shepherds-path-part-21-angels
>>92771326Man, this setting is fucking cool. I like it.
>>92768028Well I wouldn't want anyone in this thread to actually PAY for R*b*tech..mimisbrunnr.download/Vault2.0.-.TTRPG-Gamebooks/Robotech%20%28palladium%29/
Man, maybe it's just the GM, but I'm really chafing against lancer. How long combat takes, how useless my character skills feel. Also fighting infantry squads is intensely frustrating, and not full of the cool robot fights I thought I would be having.We are still LL0 though, does it get better later?
>>92774025Thank you good sir
>>92774352Some of it is down to GM style and player expectations. Our campaigns have had great sessions using only the pilot skill triggers, but not everyone enjoys that approach, and not every GM knows how to use them well.License Level 0 is pretty rough, and is rougher on some concepts than others; like hackers have a harder time being hackers at LL0. Most people start at LL1 or LL2 so that you can start having more fun with your build. In my games, we rush through the early levels to reach that point.Infantry aren't especially fun to fight, no. Your GM might (erroneously) think they are "low level" opponents to throw at new players, but I find they are best used as part of a mixed force. Two mechs, two infantry squads, maybe a couple grunt vehicles ("technicals") or a veteran mech in the lead; that's how I'd challenge a couple new players.
>>92774643Don't mention it, glad I found it myself, lotta good stuff in there.
>>92770693Highly appreciated, thanks a lot. Been looking forward to this. Sad that I'll be away for a bit and won't be able to read it, but I downloaded it.>>92771423I'm really looking forward to getting more info on Jotenheim, Botany Bay and Atlantis. I don't even mind if Botany Bay is boring, I just want to know more about it because the premise is pretty interesting.
>>92766439I used to really not care for Eden at all, but reading through 4E has made me appreciate them a lot more for whatever reason. Maybe it's simply because I gave them another chance, but the additional lore and flavour text have made me quite fond of them to the point that they may be my second favourite planet after Terra Nova. NJ is also pretty solid so far.
>>92774845Atlantis is going to be the next new Blitz army after New Jerusalem so you’ll get a bunch more on them when that happens, though they already have their own book that should give you a decent idea of what they’ll be like, minus the dolphin bits. A full overview of Jotenheim is still a while out but they’re going to have a plot role in upcoming stuff so you’ll get some details from there. There’s also going to be a blog series on them when that happens, just like NJ.There’s an RPG adventure for Botany Bay planned for some point in the future, but that’s a while off.
>>92774816Yeah the DP9 books are great and even the Palladium stuff has neat Kevin Long art
>>92774958I really appreciate the rundown, thank you. I knew that we're getting NJ soon, but I had no idea that Atlantis was coming up so soon on its tail, that's great news.Jotenheim's getting a blog series, too? That's sweet, I enjoyed reading NJ's, even if I found it to be a little long-winded clicking through all of those posts. I'm excited for that.As for Botany Bay, I'm glad that it's at least on the table, thanks for the heads-up. I won't expect it anytime soon but it's comforting to know that it will come in time and lighten up a bit of the mystery and suspense around it.
If I wanted to go get the DP9 books... I'ld go to the source...but I don't see myself going to Montreal for a LONG time...
>>92771924>https://www.dp9community.com/gear-up-blog/the-shepherds-path-part-21-angelsthanks!
>>92774761Like I feel like should be able to just run over a infantry squad and that would kill all of them, but yeah they take so much punishment and the only attack left is always the anti-tank guy. Been tempted to get a flamethrower just to deal with them.
>>92751509Whose leakin' the new stuff? I gotta start cleanin' up my linework if folks are going to be zooming in on the new designs.
>>92777154This one was Prof, he accidentally left some Jerusalem stuff open on his desktop in a stream and I got some screenshots. This guy and one of the spider tank thingies. I know they're Jerusalem because we have an actual leaker who was describing them as GMs and guncannons but with sharp edges, and that's what this one looks likeThey're pretty badass
>>92777282HA!Yes, the NJ line is a departure from the standard gear designs. The GM comparison is not too far off. The teased head pic is from a design that was created last May; yikes, that was a year ago. The Spider tank(s) were finished a few months ago. Glad you like them. I'm curious to see how the DP9 3D models turn out. New Eden had some "creative" interpretations of the final designs.
>>92771326So far I'm liking how light EM is looking to be. Might be ideal for a one-shot.
>>92777529>>92770693I'll take the opportunity to remind people that the boardgame is fucking rad.Anyway, reading the lore, I'm surprised the EMs are that small. Always figured they'd be titanic, but they're more on votoms/gear scale
>>92777539>They are gear scale.Uh? I will have to look into it then.
>>92777855Yep>EMs are giant humanoid-shaped machines,about 3 to 5 meters tall and weighing around3 to 5 tons. Their joints can move as flexibly asthose of humans.The outer armor is made of an unidentifiedmaterial named Altrium, extremely sturdy,and can be damaged by nothing other thanthe weaponry of other EMs. They are highlywaterproof, functioning without issue even inheavy rain. While they lack the ability to navigateunderwater, they can walk long distances underwater as long as the seabed is solid.The internals are too intricate for currenttechnology to manufacture from scratch. Somaintenance, repair, and retrofitting are barelypossible, and the idea creating an EM fromscratch is certainly unfeasible.
How do you normally like to deal with cockpits? Do you just try not to draw attention to how hard it would be to have a sword fight with just a pair of joysticks? I'm doing a bit of writing on a mech story just to pass the time and I've been wondering how to go about it, I've considered some sort of neural link headset to help offset the fiddly bits but I'm not fully decided on that yet. I was thinking of going for a sort of one year war/battletech sort of tech level.
>>92778285Okay, I will read it, not much of a fan of the gundanium or that's imposible to make more, but the rest is cool.
>>92778288I think proper sword fight would be difficult to do in a mech without one of those G Gundam piloting systems, but Heavy Gear works like this: the joysticks can be configured like modern flightsticks, so the buttons can be mapped to whatever the pilot wants. The gear's computer also learns and can be taught stuff. So if a duelist with a vibrorapier has Attack-Sword and Defend-Sword buttons mapped and he sees his opponent trying to use the Capo Ferro, he can point his crosshairs over the enemy's sword and press Defend-Sword. His gear, knowing that Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro, will then use that technique without further pilot involvement.
>>92778418It's not "impossible" to make, it's just that the setting is in medieval 'Europe', and the machines are excavated from ancient ruins.
New bread plsAlso someone add Robotech to the pastebin
>>92780290Here>>92781870