ghostrider
11/11/14 12:29 AM
67.49.78.45
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I have questions about sensors and it is complicated, yet simple, but don't know where to begin with how to handle it.
Why is it in battle tech that when you detect a unit, you know everything there is to know about it, yet a lot of the scenario packs have ambush abilities. Even they general encounters, you can ambush/be ambushed by units, yet I have not seen how that gets determined. Shut down mechs, sensor baffled bunkers, even underwater units are examples done, but yet how would you not find them with the way the rules are set up?
I liked, but kinda hated how one computer game did it. At a certain distance you could determine weither the unit was mech, vehicle or something else, but not what exactly it was. Closer in you could be if it was light, medium and such, while even closer would give you the type of mech/vehicle it was.
But yet, I have not seen anything that would begin to cover this in canon material. Maybe I didn't read it or it's in a newer rule book.
Any ideas? Some mechs/vehicles were supposed to have better sensors, but nothing in the rules seemed to cover it.
Bunkers are a big iffy thing.
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Cray
11/11/14 06:17 PM
67.8.171.23
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This is primarily an artifact of game play. You know everything about the targeted unit - like being able to see its record sheet - to keep the other players on the straight and narrow.
Tactical Operations' advanced sensors and double blind rules add some more shades of knowledge, IIRC.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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BobTheZombie
11/11/14 06:31 PM
184.63.115.89
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Going purely off of apocryphal resources, this is what I know. The computer game you're probably thinking of is one of the MechCommander games. In Mechcommander 2, the more experienced scouts could tell certain enemy's attributes (i.e. unit type, weight class) but could not confirm until they got a visual.
MechCommander 1 was somewhat like MC2 as you could tell the (very) general weight of a unit by the size of the blip on the screen.
In MechWarrior 4, your sensors could tell what kind of Mech or unit it was instantly, but could not get specific stats on it such as its damage or weapon loadout. You had to get a visual on any units within sensor range (except friendlies) to get their specifics.
Other than that, I really have no idea how sensors are handled in other video games or the board game for that matter.
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ghostrider
11/12/14 02:29 AM
67.49.78.45
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they originally had some different sensor reading in one of the cresent hawk games. It was out before mechcommander 2 did, which I do have, though seems winblows 8 doesn't like it as well as a lot of the older games.
And I wanted information on how the board game deals with it, because other then ecm blocking sensors with in its field, there has been no real information or even a suggestion of how to use them. I know most aren't lucky enough to have a game master run the game, this is a big hole in making scenarios logical. Why can a bunker remain hidden from sensors until it fires? Even if you step on it.
This is part of why the role playing game has issues connecting to the board game. Level 1 sensor ops does the same thing as level 8. I do know one of the mech warrior games had a mission that made you get with in 200 meters of a mech to scan the pilots identity, but that is not what I was going for.
The board game rules makes it very difficult for someone to escape. Sensors see all including the single person standing behind the tree trying to avoid being killed. I know they did it for game flow, and ease, but an optional rule suggestion set might be in order. Even if they come out with a money book with just optional rules.
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ghostrider
11/12/14 02:34 AM
67.49.78.45
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I will break this up from one too long post.
Things like the fluff information on a riflemans garret d2j radar should have like a +1 to hit bonus verse flying things. Now if the current developers don't want it, then fine. They need to stop using that fluff when putting together the books.
But with quirks, they could very well make the game a little more interesting, though in some ways more complicated.
The hertzer gun supposedly has issues with anything but well made roads, and some of the missile carriers were saying it had no radar at all.
But I was hoping to get some people involved in looking at this subject.
And another issue. The advanced probe. It should do more then just detect mines and such in an ecm covered field. Maybe a longer range for detecting shut down mechs.
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