KitK
06/05/08 06:10 PM
142.165.27.247
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Colonel Schloufer stared at the low ceiling of his tent, mindlessly watching the fabric ripple in the breeze. It was a much needed, relaxing moment, as a pair of songbirds serenaded each other in the overhanging tree limbs. Even the dull thuds and mechanical whirs from the crews working on the dropship’s wreckage had a peaceful rhythm to them. But, flashbacks of narrowly surviving the harrowing dropship crash continued to rob the Colonel of his relaxation. Worse yet, burying most of the ship’s command staff and a quarter of the technicians onboard had a way leaching away a person’s peace. At least the moaning from an adjacent medical tent had stopped. The poor kid had either gotten better or died.
A voice crisply sounded out of the walkie-talkie beside the cot, but it was all mumbling to Colonel Schloufer. “I suppose that is Ensign Price reporting in. Poor kid,” he thought to himself. Price was a green spacer who had suddenly found himself to be the ship’s ranking officer.
“Price to Schloufer. Do you copy? Over.”
Colonel Schloufer sat up and stared at the tent floor as he collected his thoughts. He picked up the walkie-talkie and waited for Price’s third attempt to contact him. “Ensign Price to. . .”
Colonel Schloufer cut Price off, “Price did I or did I not forbid you to use our ranks over unsecured radio channels?”
“Yes Sir! You did, Sir! Sorry Sir! It won’t happen again, Sir!”
“Report Price!” snapped the Colonel.
“Sir, would you like the good news first or the bad news?” inquired Price.
Schloufer’s face turned deep red and spit spattered from his mouth has he screamed into the walkie-talkie. “Price, we’re on a crash site in a war zone not the in third grade! There is no such thing as good news. Now report!”
Price quickly began the report. “Yes, Sir. The 71st Blackwind’s technicians managed to tie in your lances’s battlemech engines to the ships power grid. However, there is still not enough power to get any weapons on line. The power sources are just too different. But we were able to get the radio going and charge up the long-range sensor dish. We’re in the middle of a sensor sweep now. HQ is sending salvage crews and vehicles, medical evacuation units, battlemech reinforcements, and three ‘Mech pilots. Unfortunately, they won’t arrive for another 20 hours. But, by then we should have everything salvageable unloaded and ready to go; we were lucky, in that aspect, to be carrying the 4th Battalion’s technical crews. Three more injured people died this morning: technician Vanessa Wright, security corporal Roger Waynes, and gunner 1st class Sharon Deerbourough. And lastly, we finally cut through to the berths where your lance and technical crew were assigned. Sir. . . Sir, I’m sorry, Sir, but there was nothing but burned out twisted metal. Price’s voice cracked and stuttered with fear. “Sir, we couldn’t even find remains to bury.”
Colonel Schloufer hung his head for a moment, then he snapped it skyward, exhaling forcefully while shifting his jaw side-to-side grinding his teeth. His only daughter had been in his lance, and his youngest son was his personal technician. “I know, Price. I know,” Schloufer quietly rasped. But knowing hadn’t made hearing it any easier.
“S-Sir,” stammered Price, “I know this is not good timing but I just got the sensor report. There is a vehicle and “Mech convoy vectoring in from enemy territory; ETA 20 minutes. There is also another ‘Mech out it front, ETA 10 minutes. We can’t tell what it is, but it is too big to be a scout, unless it is a Charger. I’ve dispatched a ground crew to your Atlas. Over.”
Schloufer steeled himself. “Nothin’ like kickin’ a guy when he’s down,” he said aloud to himself. “Schloufer to Price,” he barked into his walkie-talkie, “I’m on my way. Schloufer over and out.”
Agamemnon
Colonel Schloufer easily spotted the Agamemnon from his elevated, heavily wooded, defensive position. The Agamemnon’s pilot easily picked up the Colonel’s Atlas on radar too, as the Agamemnon stepped out of the river. Finding a downed dropship and an Atlas on the top of a hill wasn’t exactly difficult. The Atlas began raining down LRMs on the Agamemnon the moment it stepped inside the missile’s 630 meter range. The Agamemnon answered in kind with its twin LRM-15 launchers. Although the Agamemnon had reached a short ridge for cover, the Atlas was easily lobbing its LRMs over the top. So, the Agamemnon stepped into a heavy tree stand of its own atop the east side of the ridge. From here the Agamemnon spent its LRM ammunition while adding a large laser to the mix. Overheated and out of ammunition the Agamemnon jumped off the ridge and began maneuvering to its next firing position, firing large lasers as heat permitted, while the Atlas finished off its own LRM ammo. The Agamemnon’s LRMs had scattered damage all over the Atlas, especially in the right torso. The Atlas had not done as well, but it had formed nice hit groupings in the Agamemnon’s side torsos and right arm.
Out of LRMs, the Atlas pushed out of the woods toward the Agamemnon, which was working to keep just 300 meters from the Atlas, where it would be out of range of the Atlas’ short-range weapons but at medium range for its own large lasers. The Agamemnon’s lasers burned into the Atlas’s right torso structure as it advanced. The Atlas was closing quickly firing all its short range weapons but largely missing. As the Atlas was about to close to short range the Agamemnon fired a short-range alpha strike combination and jumped to cover.
The Agamemnon’s backward maneuvering could not keep the running Atlas’s AC-20 out of short range forever. The big gun slammed the Agamemnon’s left torso, but the armor held. The Agamemnon once again jumped atop the ridgeline forcing the Atlas to slowdown and approach carefully. Rather than waiting for the Atlas to fully approach and be forced to react, the Agamemnon jumped across the ridge adjacent to the Atlas. Swinging its torso around the Atlas’ heavy gun and SRM’s all but ripped the Agamemnon’s right torso off destroying a pair of medium lasers. But the Agamemnon delivered its own short range barrage tearing of the Atlas’ own right torso, the last missile in touching off a full ton of AC-20 ammunition. The shell of the Atlas swooned and fell to the ground belching black smoke and flames.
coldwave’s Agamemnon accomplishes the mission and scored 5 points (destroyed Atlas with 49% armor damage and critical damage).
Banshee
Colonel Schloufer easily spotted the Banshee from his elevated, heavily wooded, defensive position. The Banshee’s pilot easily picked up the Colonel’s Atlas on radar too, as the Banshee stepped out of the river. Finding a downed dropship and an Atlas on the top of a hill wasn’t exactly difficult. The Atlas began raining down LRMs on the Banshee’s head the moment it stepped inside the missile’s 630 meter range. The Banshee answered in kind with its own LRM-20 launcher. As the Banshee reached a short ridge for some cover, the Atlas’s missile barrage blew through a week spot in the Banshee’s center torso, damaging the engine. Meanwhile, the Banshee’s own LRMs and PPCs where glancing harmlessly off the trees protecting the Atlas.
The Banshee raced along the ridgeline toward a tree stand firing only its LRM to cool down. A flash of smoke rose form the opposite hill as the Atlas rained more LRMs onto the Banshee’s head, destroying the life support system. The Banshee pilot thought to himself, “It’s my turn now you lucky *&%@$^* as he finally stepped his ‘Mech into its own protective tree stand. From here it could blast away with its PPCs and LRMs and force the Atlas to come out of hiding. And, indeed he did flash a PPC squarely into the Atlas’ center torso. Time of Death 1 minute 10 seconds. . . the Atlas’s missiles streaked through the heavy boughs of the tree as if they were being guided by an invisible banshee, slamming for the third time, into the Banshee battlemech’s head.
Dester’s Banshee fails the mission and scores 0 points (‘Mech destroyed while giving the Atlas less than 25% damage).
Siren
Colonel Schloufer easily spotted the Siren from his elevated, heavily wooded, defensive position. The Siren’s pilot easily picked up the Colonel’s Atlas on radar too, as the Siren stepped out of the river. Finding a downed dropship and an Atlas on the top of a hill wasn’t exactly difficult. The Atlas began raining down LRMs on the Siren the moment it stepped inside the missile’s 630 meter range. The Siren answered back with a PPC to the right torso as it rushed toward a short ridgeline between it and the Atlas. But, as the Siren stepped up on the ridge a third salvo of missiles from the Atlas racked across the Siren’s torso, blowing through a weak spot in the armor, damaging the engine and destroying a medium laser.
Making a sharp left turn, the Siren’s pilot begin running away from the Atlas along the ridgeline. The Atlas continued to rain down LRMs blowing through a week spot in the rear armor too, but this time without causing further damage. Finally, the Siren stepped off the edge of the ridgeline into an open space at its PPCs maximum range and began firing back. It was rough going with the constant hail of LRMs, but the Siren was beginning to melt down the Atlas’ center torso armor to critical levels as it finally ran out of ammo and began charging out of the woods.
Backpedaling, the Siren stayed out of the Atlas’ short range for nearly a minute, alternating PPC blasts as it went. But, undaunted the Atlas marched forward. The AC20 roared and flamed, tearing a huge gash in the Siren’s right torso, damaging the gyroscope and engine. A salvo of SRMs chased the AC tracers through the gap, giving the Siren’s engine its final blow.
Fang’s Siren fails the mission and scores 1 point (gave Atlas 36% armor damage)
Benevolent
Colonel Schloufer easily spotted the Benevolent from his elevated, heavily wooded, defensive position. The Benevolent’s pilot easily picked up the Colonel’s Atlas on radar too, as the Benevolent stepped out of the river. Finding a downed dropship and an Atlas on the top of a hill wasn’t exactly difficult. The Atlas began raining down LRMs on the Benevolent the moment it stepped inside the missile’s 630 meter range. The Benevolent answered in kind with its LRM-5 launcher. Then, stepping up onto the ridgeline formed by an ancient glacial esker, the Benevolent’s PPCs came into range, lighting up the sky between the Benevolent and Atlas.
The Benevolent quickly maneuvered into a heavy tree stand of its own atop the east side of the ridge. From here the Benevolent blasted away with its three PPCs and LRMs, shrugging off the few LRMs that penetrated the woods. For over a minute the Benevolent and Atlas exchanged long-range fire from their defensive positions. Finally, out of ammo and severely battered, the Atlas began its charge off the hill and out of the trees to challenge the Benevolent’s position with its AC-20. In response to the charge, the Benevolent’s PPCs lashed out at the Atlas for thirty seconds, ending in a close-range alpha strike. The charge cost the Atlas dearly, losing all of its head and left armor, a heat sink, an upper leg actuator, an empty ammunition bin, and some engine shielding.
Carefully, firing its weapons into a cool down, the Benevolent stood its ground as trees wavered and fell around it. Failing to penetrate the woods, the Atlas continued its advance toward the Benevolent, marching up the low ridge. But the Benevolent sprang out of the wood to the base of the hill below Atlas. The Atlas turned and launched a short-range alpha strike into the Benevolent’s torso and right arm, destroying a PPC. But the Benevolent’s pilot maintained his balance, swing the ‘Mech’s massive fists at the Atlas’s damaged legs. The blows smashed off the Atlas’ right leg. The huge ‘Mech fell on its left shoulder, destroying it. Nevertheless, the Atlas managed to get to its feet as the Benevolent stepped in behind it. The Atlas’s rear mounted medium lasers flashed out at the Benevolent only to be repaid by a PPC blast and a pair of uppercuts smash into the lower right torso, destroying the AC-20. The Atlas flashed its medium lasers again to no avail. And, this time a double fisted chop took off the left leg, sending the Atlas smashing to the ground again. The Atlas’s pilot tried to squirm around to get its last arm mounted laser lined up for a shot. . . the Benevolent stepped away from the Atlas. . .
. . . to get its PPCs out of minimum range, and then loosed one last alpha strike that destroyed the gyroscope and the rest of the engine, and vaporized what remained of the cockpit.
Fang’s Benevolent accomplishes the mission and scored 5 points (destroyed Atlas with 29% armor damage and critical damage).
Round One Facilitator’s Notes
Luck has not gone the Agamemnon’s way, especially in round 2. It was fun to see it perform up to its capabilities this time, and have some good luck too.
A different day and the dice are different too. Luck was not on the Banshee’s side. Everything that could go wrong did. I did reallocate the last head hit, for the sake of interest, and refinished the round. But, the Atlas continued to tear the Banshee apart.
I can’t believe the Siren actually took another early engine hit and two armor blowouts. Even with the engine hit it was doing OK. But, it has a second weakness that was its undoing. With no equipment in the right or left torsos, all those critical hits transfer to the center. I know XL engines have their pros and cons, but in this case I’d say it would be a pro, if you are going to get engine hits anyway. Which, is of course, is exactly what Fang did is his upgraded version of the Siren, which is posted in a different thread.
The Atlas pilot that showed up to fight the Benevolent must not have gotten a good night’s sleep, or was drunk, or something. He couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn compared to how the prior three ‘Mechs got shredded by LRMs. Though, to the Benevolent’s credit, missiles or no missiles, it preformed great, and it beat the Atlas at its own long-range game. It also made for a great finale to round 3, with lots of fire works and fun.
Standings
Agamemnon 6
Banshee 7
Benevolent 11
Siren 2
Edited by KitK (06/05/08 06:18 PM)
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Fang
06/06/08 08:23 AM
151.193.203.12
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all I have to say is..Yay!
One by one, the rabbits are stealing my sanity.....
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Lafeel
06/06/08 12:21 PM
157.157.189.43
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Looks like the Benevolent is one tough mother..Fang, may I use the design in my own games, as long as I give you credit for it?
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Fang
06/06/08 01:04 PM
151.193.203.12
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Absolutely. As long as Ground Zero Salvage and Technology gets credit for it ( and I guess me too, as I 'run' GZT), use it all you want. Have fun! Course, if I had said no, how would I know you weren't using it anyway, and how could I stop you? : ) Any GZT designs you see posted are open for general public use. All I ask is that it be acknowledged that Ground Zero created them.
One by one, the rabbits are stealing my sanity.....
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Lafeel
06/07/08 12:42 AM
157.157.189.43
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Touché, but I am something of a rarity, I don't use stuff without either asking the author first (whenever that is possible), or if it's not, at least give him credit.
After all claiming someone else's design as one's own is idea theft, no?
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Dester
06/09/08 11:01 AM
216.57.96.1
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Ah, lady luck can be fickle at times. Don't matter how good the design is if the luck just don't go your way.
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Lafeel
06/09/08 01:57 PM
157.157.189.43
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Quote:
Ah, lady luck can be fickle at times. Don't matter how good the design is if the luck just don't go your way.
She aint no lady, but she is definetly fickle. 
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Fang
06/09/08 02:14 PM
151.193.203.12
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yes. theft is bad, really bad.
One by one, the rabbits are stealing my sanity.....
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Fang
06/11/08 01:56 PM
151.193.203.12
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Just to let you and interested parties know, there are a ton of designs posted at www.solaris7.com under the armory Ground Zero Salvage and Technology. Check it out quick because in the next few weeks I will be redoing the whole armory and a lot of the mechs may be gone or replaced with different designs.
One by one, the rabbits are stealing my sanity.....
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Lafeel
06/11/08 02:09 PM
85.220.112.229
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Thought some of those designs looked familiar.  Will do. (not a member myself, but I like to browse that site)
Edited by Lafeel (06/11/08 02:10 PM)
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KitK
06/13/08 02:12 PM
206.163.224.8
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First of all, after several weeks, I finally noticed that I made a considerable error in my reporting. The last report was labeled round 4 when it was actually round 3; my apologies for any confusion.
For rounds 4 and 5 I will forgo the usual amateur fan-fiction introduction and story-like recount of the action. I am lacking the time, energy, and creativity to do it.
Round 4 (the real round 4) Results
I set up a 2x2 map with a fairly clear central corridor and grouped the ‘Mechs at opposite ends, out of each other’s range. The plan for the challenge lance was to stand in the center using its long range weapons to batter the approaching home lance. Then when the home lance got close enough the challenge team would back away at an angle, two ‘Mechs each in opposite directions. This was to create a central kill zone and keep the ‘Mechs within support range and line-of-sight for each other.
The home lance’s plan was to run at the cluster, divide, and conquer. The Thunderstroke and Ripper were to push to close range while the Python and Sharpshooter added fire support and harassed the ‘Mechs supporting whomever the Thunderstroke and Ripper were trying to kill. As the clear front runner, the Benevolent was the primary target. (Sorry Fang, someone has to go first, and I was trying to keep it real. The front runner is a big target and the competition may even be so devious as to hang the Benevolent “out to dry,” as it were, in harm’s way. This was the least complicated.)
The highlights are thus:
The sharpshooter drew first blood with a long AC-2 shot into the Siren’s chest (closest target). Once in range of the LRMs and PPC the challenge lance proceeded to pummel the Thunderstroke. It died as it hit medium range when a laser shot from the Benevolent set off an AC10 ammo bin. But, the Thunderstroke’s dying blast gave the Benevolent an armor blowout destroying 2 engine shields. The Benevolent’s heat went so high it couldn’t move. The Siren’s heat was very high by then too, though it could still move one. I was pushing the Siren’s heat to try for the outstanding performance bonus. The home lance wasn’t able to capitalize on the overheats, hopelessly missing easy shots, save an AC20 shot from the Python, which blew through the center armor of the (you should have guessed it) Siren. (True to the rest of the competition, this round was full of armor blowouts and head shots too.) At this point the Agamemnon and Banshee began their retreats to create the kill zone. They were followed by the Benevolent and Banshee as they cooled.
The home lance took too long to finish off the Benevolent. They couldn’t get AC20 hits for anything. So the Benevolent and Siren cooled and continued the 4 on 3 pounding of the Ripper. The Ripper’s SRM finally finished off the Benevolent when a missile blew through another armor gap. The Ripper died the next turn. A barrage of light from the Agamemnon’s medium laser batteries melted away the last of the Ripper’s head.
The loss of the Tunderstroke forced the Python to cut across to help the Ripper with the Benevolent, and so Python was committed to pursuing the Agamemnon. I gambled that the Python could take the Agamemnon alone and had the Sharpshooter start working on the Banshee. I had the Banshee and Siren stick to their plan of support for the Agamemnon. The Agamemnon retreated some to a stand of trees so the Banshee and Siren began moving back toward the center, ignoring the Sharpshooter. The Sharpshooter seized the opportunity to get into the Banshee and Siren’s rear arc where it was effectively causing trouble. The Siren cooled turned and ran in, punching and kicking rather than overheating with its weapons. Eventually, the Siren smashed the Sharpshooter’s already damaged head, and then turned to get back into support range against the Python.
Meanwhile, the Python and Agamemnon were exchanging what amounted to small arms fire, ever so slowly reducing each other’s armor. The Banshee, however, had been pummeling the Python at medium range with PPCs and LRMs. A PPC hit a half-full AC5 ammo bin, ending the challenge. All of the remaining challenge lance ‘Mechs had enough armor holes or other problems that a well placed SRM could have killed them. But, that is a big “could have” when all the enemy targets are deceased.
coldwave’s Agamemnon completes the mission scoring 4 points.
Dester’s Banshee completes the mission scoring 4 points.
Fang’s Benevolent fails the mission scoring 1 point.
Fang’s Siren completes the mission scoring 4 points.
The bonus points go to. . .
Everyone did something worth noting. The Benevolent took an unfair beating but kept on ticking and causing lots of damage up to its end. The Agamemnon survived the home lance’s thrust and drew them off while holding its own. The Siren gave its best performance yet and really stepped up to the plate with its overheating and physical bashing of the Sharpshooter. But the Banshee just kept delivering the goods round after round. Even after an engine hit it didn’t let up. It is true the Banshee couldn’t have done this without its teammates; but the support damage it served up against the home lance more than paid that debt. Dester’s Banshee is awarded the 4 bonus points for an outstanding performance.
Standings after round 4
Agamemnon 10
Banshee 15
Benevolent 12
Siren 6
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Fang
06/13/08 02:37 PM
151.193.203.13
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well played by all. perhaps one day that can be run through again to see if the singling out of the Benevolent early on really did make a difference. Either way, I am not disapointed. Finally the Siren wasn't left face down in the dirt.
One by one, the rabbits are stealing my sanity.....
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KitK
06/14/08 12:04 PM
206.163.224.8
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Yes, that would be interesting to know. Also, I'd take a less direct and dangerous route to engage the challenge lance to mitigate, rather than showcase, their long-range capabilities.
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Fang
06/14/08 03:20 PM
65.14.229.26
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maybe work it a s a chance meeting, using randomly chosen mapsheets. then see what happens. Would be interesting if one had the time.
One by one, the rabbits are stealing my sanity.....
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KitK
06/17/08 03:20 PM
206.163.224.8
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Should I play this politically or in a vacuum?
Example of politically: To win the whole thing the Agamemnon must place first with the Banshee and Benevolent in 4th and 3rd. The Siren can't win, but it and the Benevolent are from the same manufacturer so they would be helping each other.
Example in a vacuum: The Siren and Benevolent are across from each other and have good shots. So, they slug it out, even though they are from the same manufacturer.
Do you have preference?
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Fang
06/18/08 09:37 AM
151.193.203.12
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politically, would not be fair to other contestants. Don't need the two GZT esigns ganing up on the others and putting it out of commision before they get a chance to show their stuff. Then again, always good to weed out the competition as early as possible. I leave it to you. Pesonally, on a selfish note, yeah, let the Benevolent and Siren designs pair up if you like. I predict an engine hit on the Siren early on, just like the previous rounds.
One by one, the rabbits are stealing my sanity.....
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Dester
06/18/08 10:46 AM
216.57.96.1
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May seam a little selfish but no, no politics... this was a compitition of the best mech, not who could enter the most mechs.
I expect to see the contestants pair off and go at it and then move to the other pair once one manages to destroy another. Any other tactics is a surefire way to insure the order of mech destruction (baring any really crazy luck).
That said, I don't really expect the banshee to do that well in round 5  It was designed mostly as a long range support mech (probably why it did so well in round 4) so we shall see.
Dester
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KitK
06/24/08 12:29 PM
206.163.224.8
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I had hoped coldwave would have gotten a chance to give his feelings on this issue too, but we must press on.
I really wanted to do this politically because the scenario behind each round has been important to the structure of this competition. But scenario turned Round 4 into a bit of a fiasco and upset the balance of things more than I would have desired. And, I don't want that to happen again.
Further, I had run Round 5 before asking this question, and the results occurred as you predicted. It was also rife with head hits and armor blowouts, and I was very dissatisfied with how it went.
So, I will officially run Round 5 one last time. Hopefully the results will be up today or tomorrow.
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KitK
06/25/08 02:45 PM
206.163.224.8
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The round started with each ‘Mech in a corner of the map facing outward. The positions were randomly assigned. The Siren and Agamemnon had the easiest path and an open shot at each other along one side. The Banshee and Benevolent had the same on the other side. When the green, go-light flashed on, each ‘Mech torso twisted and fired into its opponent’s rear side. A lot of armor damage occurred. The only significant hit was the Banshee’s shot to the side of the Benevolent’s head with a PPC.
The Agamemnon began jumping around to avoid the Siren and make itself a harder target. But, with the Siren’s speed it has soon closed with the Agamemnon and the two began jockeying for position and getting some good maneuvers and shots in. Meanwhile, the Benevolent charged down in on the Banshee, which was hanging back trying to spend its LRM ammo. Both ‘Mechs were tearing into each other pretty hard, but the Banshee was doing slightly better.
At the 1-minute mark the Siren took its first armor blowout from a medium laser, when it stepped it to take a couple of punches at the Agamemnon. The laser missed all the Siren’s critical areas, but the Siren was forced to back off anyway as the Agamemnon delivered its own physical attack. The Agamemnon followed the Siren’s retreat with another short-range barrage, which was answered with a laser to the head by the Siren. On the other side of the map the Banshee had burned through the Benevolent’s left arm armor and clipped the limb off with a critical hit. The Benevolent had also lost the armor on its right arm and torso as the Banshee was clearly pulling ahead. But, the Benevolent hadn’t taken the damage lying down on the job. It had stripped the armor from both of the Banshee’s arms, damaging three arm actuators and a hand. The crowd held its breath wondering if the Banshee’s exposed LRM ammo would ruin its lead.
The Agamemnon and Banshee managed to maneuver themselves into a positioning stalemate and poured all the firepower they could into each other. The Siren suffered a massive center torso blowout as a large laser, medium laser and SRM smashed through and collapsed the armor, leaving a hole that was exploited by more lasers and SRMs. Amazingly, it only resulted in a single engine and gyro hit. Just before the barrage hit, the Siren lashed out with its own four forward weapons. The PPCs and lasers slashed off armor and the remainder of the Agamenon’s damaged head. (If these head hits hadn’t happened, I believe that the Agamemnon would have won round 5. Its armor was in good shape, the Siren was in a very vulnerable condition, and the Banshee and Benevolent were grinding each other apart.)
Once the Siren cooled it began moving in on the other two battling ‘Mechs. The Benevolent began moving away from the large wooded area in which it had been dueling with the Banshee, hoping to force it out into the open. Finally, the Siren crested a central hill and took a shot at the Benevolent. With the Banshee out of the Benevolent’s line-of-sight, it took a shot back at the Siren, which destroyed the Siren’s gyroscope. Leaving the Siren to flounder, the Banshee pursued the Benevolent, and within 20 seconds had sizzled of what little remained of the Benevolent’s head.
One would think that killing the damaged Siren would have been academic at this point. But, it was protected by the side of a hill. And, with all of its limbs intact, the Siren was keeping the Banshee in its firing arcs. The Siren managed to land, three structural hits to the Banshee, but they yielded no critical damage. The Banshee was at risk, but it stood its ground and poured on the power, melting away the Siren’s engine.
Dester’s Banshee wins the melee and scores 6 points.
Fang’s Siren places 2nd in the melee and scores 4 points
Fang’s Benevolent places 3rd in the melee and scores 2 points
coldwave’s Agamemnon places 4th in the melee and scores 0 points
Final Competition Standings
Agamemnon 10
Banshee 21
Benevolent 14
Siren 10
Final Facilitator’s Notes
Thanks to everyone who participated in this thread and especially to coldwave, Dester, and Fang for providing the battlemechs. I learned a lot about playing Battletech that I had only known in theory before.
Congratulations to Dester on a great design.
I have gotten to know your ‘Mechs pretty well over the course of the competition. So, I and will offer my 2 cents, for what its worth, knowing that under different conditions it might not be good advice. For the Siren , consider moving the lasers from the arms to the torsos. First, because it would have been nice to have them at physical attack range, and second, to give the right and left torsos something to take a critical hit. Maybe even flip the rear mounted laser forward. For the Agamemnon , I didn’t find the extra large laser all that practical. I think 5 more heatsinks instead of a laser could put it on par with the Banshee and Benevolent. For the Benevolent , there were times I really desired more short-range firepower. And, like the Siren, the medium lasers were often tied up in the arms when I needed them. Otherwise, it was a solid ‘Mech and I loved the heatsinks. They provided the ‘Mech a lot of versatility and survivability. For the Banshee , again it is a very solid design. I also appreciated its heatsinks and versatility. The competition between the Banshee and Benevolent, in the final analysis, was closer than the score indicates.
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Dester
06/25/08 06:23 PM
216.57.96.1
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Woot !, well I really didn't expect it to do that well in a free for all, but I'll take it.
Thanks again for holding the competition Kitk. It was well laid out. I appricated the specific 'trials' that each round represented and the very black and white conditions for building the mechs. The added fluff text, explinations of the rounds and comentairy afterwords was very well done. I also your willingness to to re-assign early death damamage to see how the battles could have turned out.
Some lessons learned if I deside to have have a design competition would be the following.
1) Ignore CT(critical) results. While on the battlefield luck is always a factor, it shouldn't be considered in a competition.
2) Reassign all head hits and don't let the pilot ever black out (see lesson 1 about luck)
3) Not do a team type thing. While I was very happy that my mech won that round, it counted on all the designs to work as a team, and unfortunantly, that means someone has to take it on the chin. Your "best performer" points could have been scaled to 4,3,2,1 as to who contributed most to the team win or lose.
4) Competitions are FUN !!!, thanks again Kitk.
My own personal note... did anyone else notice the lack of auto-cannons on the entered mechs along with only one mech having SRMs? ... food for thought.
Dester
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Fang
06/26/08 11:55 AM
151.193.203.12
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For the Benevolent, just move medium lasers to RT and LT, and replace the LRM with an SRM4 rack and a ton of ammo. Should improve short range and close combat results. Still has the PPCs for longer range, and with those the LRM5 probably is not really needed.
One by one, the rabbits are stealing my sanity.....
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KitK
06/26/08 02:52 PM
206.163.224.8
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The lessons were definitely interesting. A part of me very strongly desired to re-roll head and CT(c) hits out of fairness to all of you. The reason I didn’t let myself do that was because doing so would eliminated some of the risk, excitement, and agony of the game. I would have got bored and not have had as many interesting things to write about. And, the CT criticals added a lot of flavor. It forced me to adapt 'Mech's strategies and make them perform under duress.
The team match had some pros and cons. You are right that the bonus was too big or needed to be spread out. But, I didn't think it would be fair to change it mid-competition. Also, I need a set of guide lines so no one takes the brunt of the attack. The team was hard, but the team was important. I felt my competition must have something that wasn't a solo duel. And, I would do it again.
The lack of weapon variety was interesting too. I left the design criteria open with my expectations implicit in the round descriptions rather than stating them explicitly. Had I been more restrictive in what I wanted there might have been more variety. But, hey, it was OK. And, it may not even be possible to design to meet each round's demands. The demands were: be able to take on multiple, light, fast targets; hold you own against Clan technology; go toe-to-toe with one of Battletech's most venerable, revered, and feared battlemechs; and be versatile enough be effective in a non duel situation.
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KitK
06/26/08 02:55 PM
206.163.224.8
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Yeah, that certainly crossed my mind, but I didn't dare suggest it because, well, frankly, that LRM5 just seemed to be an oddity along side the PPCs that gave the Benevolent its character quirk.
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Fang
07/02/08 11:14 AM
151.193.203.13
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Ok, ready for the next one! anyone? anyone at all...
One by one, the rabbits are stealing my sanity.....
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KitK
07/02/08 12:11 PM
206.163.224.8
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Oh go for it. You know you want to.
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Fang
07/02/08 01:13 PM
151.193.203.12
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Hmmm...let me think about that. I will have to see what the schedule holds, time constraints, permission from wife, that kind of thing. : )
One by one, the rabbits are stealing my sanity.....
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