Is it just me or…

Is it just me or are Battlemechs becoming stranger and stranger looking with each TRO?

I was glancing through my newish copy of TRO 3075 recently,  and was struck by how many of the mechs were very strange. Not only were they not humanoid like, which many mechs are not, but very much so to where it is just plain weird.

I will not name names, but…

-One looks like it is just a Skeleton, with buck teeth. Surprisingly, this is not a WOB mech.

-Another I cannot really tell it has a head, unless you think of the upper slabs of it shoulders, with the small head squashed in between, like some bodybuilder.

-The Celestials are just in another league themselves….

-One clan mech..you’ll just have to see or yourself….Takes the term “Torso mounted cockpit” To a whole new level. By the way the art looks, one would think that the CT and head locations on the to hit rolls would have been switched. Speaking of which, where in the world is the Engine on this mech?

-The clans have a Quad mech whose head looks like it is a hatchet blade being swallowed whole by some lion/hippo thingy.

-Yet another looks like it has dual cockpits, but of course does not show for it on the record sheet. house rule, anyone?

-Another is just a very thin rectangle to view out of. Would not want to pilot that mech, no matter how many externally mounted cameras it had.

-One has an oval shaped cockpit bubble, but mounted vertically. Actually, now that I look at it, it looks like an upside down raindrop.

-Large bubble cockpits and straight lines are popular, as well as claws on the hands.

And that does not even include the “Old” mechs!

-One mounts what looks like a weird looking horn on its head…

-Why would you have an antenna longer than the length of your cockpit sticking out the back of your mechs head? Wouldn’t that just snap off if you turned your mechs head sideways while running through a forest or something?

-The Riflemans successor…just look at it yourself..to me..it looks like one of the aliens from the movie Independence Day…

-One would look like a Battle suited human, having two windows that loo like eyes, except hands can’t bend the way this guys does.

-Another freakishly long back of head antenna, along with the biggest AC barrel drawing that i can remember. Funny thing is, its only representing an AC 10!

Once this book has been out for a bit longer, i shall re-update this with names.

Special

Now I know I have been very lax about posting to the blog and doing shows, but in a nutshell: shcool kicked my tail this year. But with the school year ending, and an entire month off aproching fast, my love for battletech and podcastign is reviving. I have a new exciting project that I am currently working on that I think everyone will like pretty well. So far I only have one more exam to go, along with a giant paper.After that i will be free!

Wish me luck,

Sam

New stuff!

Just got my book shipment in yesterday and I’m loving it! I hope to have some reviews and a podcast out soon. Starting next month things might get abut crazy due to National Novel Writing Month.

So your trying to get a friend to play BattleTech…

So you want to show a friend the game of Battletech. Not teach them the rules, or anything, just a short game. Well, which mech would you choose for your friend? I’d humbly suggest the Shadow Hawk.

The Shadow Hawk gives a beginner a taste of the maneuverability of mechs, as well as a wide variety of weapons to choose from. Also, the mech cannot overheat unless you crit the engine, making it a perfect mech for new players.

Th maneuverability is enough to get through sparse wooded areas with ease. The JumpJets allow for more complicated maneuvers, such as the DFA. The Shadow Hawk is not sluggish, but not so fast where you can have excess MP quite often. Each manuver has to be thought about, not the case in many faster mechs.

The weaponry on this mech comes from all of the various weapon “families”. This allows a new player to experience the positives and negatives of many different types of weapons. The variety also allows the user to be able to respond to enemy attacks at any range, from 21 hexes, or to close range slug fests.

One of the harder things to grasp correctly in Battletech, in my opinion, is good heat control. Luckily, in the Shadow Hawk, you really don’t have to worry about that. This mech is more likely to be destroyed by ammunition explosions before its engine gets hit. Although you could use other low heat generating mechs, such as the Bug mechs, at least with the Shadow Hawk you can fight outside of 9 hexes. The mech also carries many of the most iconic and common weapons of its era.

The Shadow Hawk is a good starting point for someone being shown Battletech. It is also a good mech to learn the ropes in, and is a good stepping stone to more specialized designs.

If this looks/ sounds like a school report, that’s because I wrote it during a class. School must have rubbed off on it a bit.

Early Morning Mech Talk

Getting all those new books got me thinking about Battletech, and one thing in specific came to mind. What if all the TW rules, at least the ones for infantry, are a return to the past?
In the original TRO, many mechs had anti-infantry weapons like small lasers, mgs, and flamers. This suggests that infantry were quite a threat. After that book, though, anti infantry weapons on mechs were few and far between. Whith the rise of TW, however, anti infantry weapons are having a resurgence. But no need to go out and get a brand new mech. Many mechs from TRO 3025 are still viable in this role. Take the Stinger, for instance. Replace it’s medium laser with a flamer, and you’ve got yourself a very cheap but effective anti-infantry design perfectly suited for guarding your newer designs against the infantry menance!

Books, books, and more books!

Just spent about a fourth of the money I made all summer on a huge amount of battletech books. I got:
Tactical Operations
Jihad Conspiracies:IP 2
Jihad Secrets : the Blake documents
Starterbook: Wolf &Blake
TRO 3039, 3075, and Vehicle Annex.

Whew, what a list! So expect lots of book reviews when they arrive!

Domain name(among other things)

The MechHead Podcast now also has a domain name! Typing in http://www.mecheadpodcast.com takes you to the podcast page, and  tryping in blog.mecheadpodcast.com (no http:// or www.) gets you to the blog.

Enjoy!

Sam

Ill be back!

Recently someone left a comment on here asking if the podcast would ever return. Well,as soon as my fall break appears, it will return. So have no fear, for the podcast is here!

Also, I am writing this on my new ipod touch, so expect more blog posts.

Been A While…

I’m back!
Yea, I know its been forever, but I got my reasons.
My job is fun, but very tiring. When your used to having a lot of time to relax, it kinda sucks. Being paid is nice too. Still haven’t gotten around to getting a domain name, but itll happen soon. Podcast# 43 just came out, and ill have 44 out soon.
Sam

Refit corner

While TRO 3050U updated many designs to total warfare specs, many of the original designs got left out. So, ive come up with the Icon Series, the mechs that you really only associate with one House. I’ve upgraded these classic mechs with a TW bent, though I tried to keep them close to their original state, no XL engines, similar firepower, just better, like using MMLs and LACs. You’ll also see slightly older weapons, like MRMs and RACs show up every once and awhile as well. Exact descriptions coming soon.
Sam