Hey @Paint-it-Pink welcome back (and happy birthday)!
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I loved the Jenners back in the original Mechwarrior Mercenary era (you start with a Jenner). The SRMs on it required a lock, but other than that it was a lovely little thing.
Last night I was playing some Mechwarrior Mercenaries 5, and one of the other guys playing built a Jenner with 4 Medium Lasers and an LRM(5? Small, whatever it was) that was a monster. Fast enough to avoid a lot of incoming fire and get behind enemies, and the “X-Wing” orientation of the 4 lasers made them really easy to lineup shots (unlike my Hunchback 4N… or was it 4P?.. whichever one has the 8 Medium Lasers, which is probably my favourite medium build, but all those lasers on one side makes it a bit trickier to line up shots sometimes).
Nice to be able to melee things. As a result I think every mech I drove last night got its arms shot off… ah well.
Cheers. I keep losing track of things I should comment on for reasons that are driven by life™.
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I’m a big fan of the Jenner IIC, at least aesthetically, I don’t tend to play Clan mechs very often and if I do, I play the front line, not second line stuff. (A full star of Dashers, haha!)
I feel like a lot of stuff in the most recent TROs is just kinda generic? Some of the Dark age stuff is distinctive, but I think especially with MWO and those games, all the design has just become… very simplified. I don’t necessarily miss the stats of the old mechs, just very much miss their distinctive aesthetics.
I will admit I’m a fan of tanks. I often will bulk out forces with several Patton or Pos or something, or SRM launchers just to make things interesting,. (hiding heavy SRM carriers in buildings and surprising a Hunchback that’s standing still is one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in a game… other than headcapping Natasha Kerensky on turn 1? or 2? at the battle of Tamar (maybe not Tamar. The Wolves were taking down one of the Lyran provincial capitals) and I managed to get her at long range on 12s with a single LRM after somebody else hit her in the head with a couple of things to get the 11 other points necessary)
have you ever played around with SSW and the tools that have come out since Catalyst took over the license? I’ve been sometimes involved with the Catalyst Demo Team, but my friends were always way more involved- they do Gencon and Adepticon at least every year when they’re on and can get across the border, run the big event for the con (for battletech, at least) I’m not sure when the construction rules changed (though I know they did change) but the tools now are quite handy for playing around with.
My favourite bases to start with are the Jagermech, the Shootist (I have a very fun version with gauss rifle, large laser, Angel ECM, and Stealth Armour that is my favourite ride ever), the Javelin (for all your ridiculous filled with medium laser needs) and the Enforcer.
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The answer is no, I haven’t used SSW. Originally I pumped the construction rules into a spreadsheet. Later, I used the heavy Metal construction program that is no longer extant.
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I believe SSW was specifically created to replace Heavy Metal. (I think?)
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Sort of. Fans were dissatisfied with HM not being updated, and anything else happening behind the scenes was never disclosed. AFAIK SSW was a fan created program, but I could be wrong.
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it is, but it’s created by a member of the Demo Team, I’m pretty sure with Catalysts’s enthusiastic backing if not financial backing. I think it’s more of a “go ahead, it’ll be a load off our shoulders”
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As I understand it the author of SSW was also able to drop historical baggage and support only the TechManual design rules.
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the primary developer used to be a guy called George Blouin, good bloke. I’m not sure if he’s still involved, it’s been several years.
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