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File: 1356326432676.jpg-(50 KB, 608x456, lwsm_mechbay_3415.jpg)
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The year is 3040, and you are Daniel Holdt, Battlemech Designer.

And the last four hours have sucked beyond belief.

Your boss, Goddard Grey, has gone missing, and is presumably in the hands of a group of local pirates who call themselves the Eights. According to the message they sent you from his email address, you and yours have 24 hours to clear out of the depot before whatever is going to happen happens.

That was 4 or so hours ago, and you and Janine have returned from town, with a promise that the garrison will send their Wasp and Vendette to assist you against the Eights, who as they tell it have a cobbled-together Banshee as their main weapon.

You've found out that Deiter is ready to mount and arm the makeshift rocket launchers you suggested he and Ilsa make, and in another few hours the Crazy Ivan should be online.

Then all there will be for you to do is await the deadline, and see what happens.
>>
>>22195208
Welp.
Let's mount and arm those rocket launchers.

And let's get ready to bunker down.
>>
Links to previous threads:

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21368164/
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21423338/
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21481062/
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21559682/
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21863382/
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21928927/
>>
>>22195208
Let's go get armed. The engineer shouldn't be in combat anyways, but having a gun and not needing it is better than not having a gun and needing.
>>
>>22195247

Dieter is curious what you want to have him mount them on. You have the flatbeds, the crane, the Crazy Ivan, and a few vans.

Ivan pipes up and says the Urbie actually has some extra space, or so he thinks, since the original gun it had was much heavier, and the ones he is mounting are lighter, even as a pair. Also he notes the ammunition bin is half empty with the reloads he's assigned it, so he mentions that a few racks could be put atop the dome or slung under the Small Laser on the left arm.

Hatamoto seems to be a bit irate that everyone is referring to you in this matter, when he's the one with military training, but he remains silent.
>>
Aww, fuck yeah, my favorite time of the week has arrived! We should get started on schematics for a good mounting system on dem vans, and maybe learn how to shoot if we have time.

Maybe get some teams busy on building some cover?
>>
>>22195348
Let's put the rockets on the Crazy Ivan, on the left arm.

Ask Hatamoto if he sees anything wrong with the preparations we're making, since we now believe that the enemy is going to be a bunch of pirates.
>>
>>22195295
>>22195379

You suggest using the vans since they are more expendable than the other vehicles you have, and Dieter nods. He and Ilsa move to see that it gets done.

Ivan nods and heads back to the Mechbay to oversee the finishing touches on the Urbie.

Janine heads to her quonset without much said.

You see some crew standing around doing nothing, and two things come to mind:

They should be doing something, like gathering rubble or crates to make barriers;

And they have a gun and you don't.

Noting Hatamoto's sourness, you ask him for one, and ask him to teach you to shoot.

He blinks for a moment, scowls a little, and nods. He hands you his own sidearm, and motions for you to head to the alley behind the commissary.
>>
In addendum, we should ask Hatamoto to help us with cover placement / strategy. No reason to have an angry asian, let's get him into the think tank if he wants in, and brainstorm!
>>
>>22195348
Aww fuck yes, let's go all hilux on their asses.
>>
>>22195440

As you walk, you ask his opinion on things.

"As an ex-military man, as much as I believe I should be in command here, right now, my professional opinion is you handle yourself well enough. School was likely high-pressure and you have learned to operate as such. Commendable."

You arrive at the alley.

"There is a crate there with cans on it. I was training others to shoot this way. When you knock down the three cans, I will give you a harder target.

Also, on a personal note... I do not believe Goddard will be returned to us alive. I believe he is dead, and I believe we are going to have to decide what to do about the lack of an owner, and the lack of leadership from here on out. It may seem ludicrous for me to suggest considering such a thing at a moment like this, but it will be an important issue in the days to come, if I am right."

You pop off a few rounds. Your aim is terrible, as your hands are shaky. Hatamoto's words do nothing to make them less so.
>>
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>>22195208
Fuck yeah, MechEngineer Quest!
Can't wait to finish up Hazard Pay!
>>
>>22195208
The boss was kidnapped? Shit, I've missed a lot.

>>22195538
Tell Harakiri that even if Grey is dead, we have a duty to honor his contracts and take care of his factory. Also, try kneeling and aiming, and see if that helps.
>>
"You may be right... I hope you're wrong, but IF he is, would you suggest one owner, or a more "corporate" structure, where we all own a certain percent of the stock? We're all working free right now anyways, why not give everyone a bit more incentive to make this succeed?"
>>
>>22195538
Keep on shooting until we get it right, take deep breaths, we can work under stress.

"I don't know, I hope he's alive, he's damn good at finding talented people.

If he isn't alive than Janine would probably be the best choice to take over. She already does much of the necessary work on financials and negotiation and has connections. We're all used to listening to her and everyone respects her authority.

Even if he's dead I'm going to make Hazard Pay, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure his dream comes true. I'll need your help for that."
>>
>>22195538
"Well since you are the one with military training, any advice you have would be well appreciated."
>>
>>22195649

>manly tears... must... not be shed...
>>
>>22195649
Well I guess we can divy us the responsibilities umongst ourselves.

Janine takes over the business aspect, we handle domestic/engineering, and Hatamoto handles security?
>>
>>22195538
Think about this like an engineer. Steady hands, squeeze, don't pull, line up the sights, wait for recoil to settle between shots, etcetera. A gun is just a more physically involved bit of mechanics to work with than we're used to. Nothing more.
>>
>>22195631
>>22195648
>>22195649

You tell him that even if Goddard is dead, you intend to finish your work, and you'd like everyone on board to do their part, since the HZP will never become a reality if any one person quits out because of this.

You also suggest that either Janine takes over, or you all stake equal claim, and incorporate. If, you know, he's right about this.

Hatamoto nods. "I agree Janine would do well, in theory. I am concerned about her ability to handle that manner of pressure, since as it stands any mistake she makes falls on someone else's shoulders. But I agree that she is the most likely candidate we have."

You kneel, and try to slow your breathing a bit, and fire a few more shots, hitting one can.

"If you are having trouble aiming, try holding your breath when you fire. And don't jerk the trigger, squeeze it. You are throwing off your aim."

You follow his advice, and hit another can with your next shot.

"Good. You learn quickly. Some of the men I trained with in the Confederation could have taken a lesson from you. Soft men."
>>
>>22195756
"I always try to listen to people when they're talking about something they know about about than I do.

I've never been in a situation like this, what with people coming to kill me. What am I supposed to do to keep the tension and fear from taking over? Because I know if I panic I'll be useless, and I can't have that."
>>
Ask about shot prioritization - who we gon' shoot first? Should we have our vans and urbie aid the garrison, keep them in tight, or mix / match? Maybe we could bait them in enfilade, give them nowhere to hide while we rain hell from both sides of the mech bay? (I have no military training and I thought of that, so I don't THINK it's too meta game...)
>>
>>22195756
"Honestly, I am fucking pissed about this whole debacle, I just want do fucking design some goddamn Mechs, and then Goddard had to go run off his mouth, if he is still alive, I'm going to punch him in his. We can take turns.

I need a smoke."
>>
>>22195816

"Simple. If you stop being afriad, you will die. If you let it take you over, you will die.

Fear is important. Fear is what makes men brave, not courage. Courage is the power to make fear a tool Without fear, there is no adrenaline, and there is no drive. You are afraid to die. You are afraid to fail. You are afraid Goddard is dead. Thus, you want to live, want to succeed, and want to save your friend and employer. Do you see what I mean now?

Now kill that last can so I can get back to telling these wet recruits how not to kill themselves when the time comes. You will not be fighting You are not replaceable. Neither is Ivan, Janine, Dieter, or myself. New crew we can hire. Experts do not come into employ so easily."
>>
If there's extra room on the Urbie, would we want to see if we can mount any spare flamers or machineguns on it? It's going to play turret support for the Vedette and Locust the militia has, and presumably at AC/2 ranges. If there are any bandits that sneak up on the factory during the engagement, we may want an anti-personnel 'mech to deal with them.
>>
>>22195935
We should get our mental patterns calibrated into the urbanmech's neurohelmet and learn how to pilot a bit when this is over...
>>
>>22195935
"I'll do my best and try not to die. Thanks Hatamoto."

Finish off the cans and smoke, we really need a cigarette today.
>>
>>22195967

(it has a Small Laser, which is fine for killing infantry)
>>
>>22195991
>>22196003

You fire two more rounds, hitting the last can.

You stand, and pull out a smoke. You light it, and turn to hand Hatamoto his gun back.

He's gone.

So, you're in the alley behind the commissary, smoking. No one is around, and your depot is likely to be attacked in around 19 hours.

What's on the agenda?
>>
>>22196113
Figuring out their possible avenue of attack. What's the terrain around our compound like?
>>
>>22196113

Hot meal. Rest. Entertainment. 19 hours until the attack. We might be dead in 20. Best be prepared for that inevitability.
>>
>>22196113
Is Hatamoto our head of security?
>>
>>22196113
Betta start makin' rawket truks.
>>
>>22196113
Finish our cigarette, make sure people are attaching the Missiles to the Crazy Ivan and to the trucks and getting them ready to go. Hatamoto is probably already taking a look at the terrain and determining where best to place our defenses, but we ought to check it as well.

After that we can get some lunch and get some work done.

>>22196155
Due to not really having anyone else, he's the closest thing we have.
>>
>>22196155
We don't really have one, but he's the best for the position.
>>
>>22195935
If we're not fighting, who's going to be piloting the mechs?
>>
>>22196129

You step out of the alley, and look around. Smoke curls from between your lips, and out your nose as you exhale slowly, panning the horizon.

It's all flat, and these guys could come from anywhere. The garrison didn't tell you where their base is, and that makes you think they don't know. Which isn't good.

Of course, you're no tactician, so you hope Hatamoto is all the military man he claims and seems to be.

Your stomach grumbles, and you decide to go pick through the kitchen to find something to eat, since you know nothing would be made right now with everyone preparing.

You poke your head in, and see Wanda sitting against the counter drinking what looks like a beer. She nods at you, and tosses you a dewy can of Pharaoh.

"Last one." she muses.
>>
Yeah, if we have little else to do, we might just design that myomer after all. Also, we should make sure everyone gets a good meal and ad much rest as can be afforded before then.
>>
>>22196160
This.

>>22196169
>>22196181
Then we should consult with him if we want to help plan the defense. Ask him what he thinks of the rocket trucks we're building and where the Crazy Ivan will fit.
>>
>>22196198
Pilots. Which we most definitely aren't.
>>
>>22196198
We're not a mech pilot, we're an engineer. The pilot is probably going to be Ivan as I don't think anyone else can pilot the Crazy Ivan, it's the only choice we really have and he'll have a couple tons of armor between him and any incoming fire.

>>22196208
"Thanks Wanda.

Today has really gone to hell, I was hoping to get the Myomer systems designed. But then Goddard just had to get his ass kidnapped.

Cigarette?"
>>
>>22196259
Probably whoever has the neurohelmet calibrated for him.
>>
>>22196160
>>22196169
>>22196244
>>22196259

"Sure." She takes one from the pack, and uses a portable butane torch to light it.

"Don't tell my daughter, she hates when I smoke. Had a lung replaced already."

You muse about the situation, and the preparations.

"Ivan took two rocket frames for the UrbanMech, against Dieter's wishes. He's mocking them up now. Hatamoto is positioning the vans into a barricade, with the rest of the launchers on top of them. Dieter is telling the crew how to fire them. The Autocannons are on, just need to be wired. So we fabricators are done for now. I'm taking a break."
>>
>>22196326
Wait, a barricade? Not using them as mobile artillery? Is that wise?

Then again, it sounds like these "pirates" aren't that much of a threat, with only a single mech.
>>
>>22196326
Is there any convenient place we could lure the pirates before springing the trap?
Like a courtyard flanked by tall buildings?
>>
>>22196326
"Huh? What's the problem with the rockets going on the Urbie? Too many eggs in one basket?"
>>
>>22196347

They have an "junkyard" Banshee, whatever that means.

Given that weapons like PPCs may require routine maintenance to keep in working condition, we may be dealing with a 4/6 'mech with lots of armor, but only an AC/10 and a small laser for weapons. Might be able to pick it off from extreme range.
>>
>>22196326
"I'm in about the same boat, not much more I can do to help. Everyone's doing what needs to be done. We're going to have people try to kill us tomorrow and I'm thinking about working on the Myomer.
>>
>>22196418
>banshee
oh fuck
but dat salvage...
>>
>>22196347
>>22196402
>>22196418

"Dieter is upset because the vans won't be manned, and the Urbie will. So he is worried that if the system fails Ivan's gonna get hurt. I don't blame him; oaf's a bullheaded blowhard. Good tech though."

You ask about the surroundings, and she shakes her head.

"Flat as my b sharps, shug. No where to hide, except maybe put some vans in between the Mechbays. But I think I agree with the barricade more, personally. Walls and all that."

You ask who might pilot the Urbie.

"Well, Ivan knows how, as you know. I have a feeling Hatamoto does too, but I don't think he will. Probably Ivan. Ilsa wants to learn, but I'm not that bad of a parent."
>>
>>22196437
Is there any way we could make some quick IED's or landmines?

Even if we can't disable the enemy Mech, we might be able to use traps to force it to attack a more defensible position.
>>
>>22196499
Fuck, nevermind, I thought we were in an industrial district, not out in the open.
>>
>>22196499
"Yeah, no way in hell we're sending Ilsa out in the Crazy Ivan right now.

I just hope that their Banshee doesn't have the PPC working, if all they have is the AC/5 and Small Laser our lives'll be much easier.
>>
>>22196499
"Eh. I'm wont to trust the Slav when it comes to handling massive racks of unguided explosives, personally. He knows what he's doing."
>>
>>22196563
What if the PPC is working? What sort of counter-strategy could we formulate?
>>
>>22196523
Thunder LRM ammo would seem to imply that explosives of weight equivalent to that stored in regular LRM ammo would make for effective anti-mech landmines, but we need it to explode when stepped on.
>>
>>22196523

Wanda shakes her head, and finishes the smoke you gave her.

"I dunno. We have shells galore, but we prolly don't have the time to do much more than we have done. Plus is it really worth some crewman blowing himself and his buddy up when he flubs dismantling a shell for powder or something? I don't wanna lose a leg to a mine we forgot about six weeks from now, ya know."

She chugs her beer, crushes the can, and trundles off.

"If I were you, I'd just busy myself till the shit hits the fan. You're a pencil-pusher kid, and there's no shame in that. You're better off securing our future in that office of yours while we try to make sure we all have one. My opinion, of course."

She smiles back at you and leaves the commissary.

Your beer is a bit warm, but no one hates a good can of Pharaoh. What now?
>>
>>22196661
chug beer, worry.
>>
Rolled 25

>>22196661
We are an Engineer hell we are a man who is 18 hours away from his possible death. There is only one thing we can do at a time like this...

Rolling to Jack Off
>>
>>22196661
Dig something foodlike from the kitchen, maybe a sandwich, drink the beer, enjoy it.

Then we can get back to work, the myomer isn't going to design itself.

>>22196680
Nah, let's not. Instead when the time is getting close we can kiss Janine under the reasoning that if we aren't going to do it now when are we going to.
>>
>>22196680
I was going to call for a prayer to the dice gods, but let's just not get their attention until the battle starts.
>>
>>22196680
Why don't we go continue work on the Hazard Pay, like any obsessive-compulsive engineer would?

And jack off to the schematics later.
>>
>>22196693
Fraternization? Not on my watch.

We should check up on the mechs and see how the fitting is going.
>>
>>22196661
Eat, drink, and get back to work. When Goddard gets back we can show him our finished 'Mech design, its finishing touches the product of stress-induced genius.

Because Goddard will be back.
>>
>>22196661
Find some food in the fridge, then get back to work on the myomer.
>>
>>22196729
>>22196721
>>22196693
>>22196675

You slam the rest of your beer, and toss the can. The fridge is pretty full, and you find some luncheon meat and bread, and some mayo and cheese.

A filling sandwich, and another smoke, and you decide Wanda is right, and your place is in your chair, madly trying to finish your first masterpiece, and the thing that will get you all paid.

Plus, you could use a distraction.

Back in your office, you shut the window to block out the sounds of welding and grinding an shouting, and bring your computer out of sleep mode.

You have an email.

You frown, and light a smoke, not really wanting to read it. But you open it anyway.

It's a video of a cat trying to jump at a bird through a closed window.
>>
Grab a rum and coke, easy on the rum, and let's get back to work.
>>
File: 1356332420656.png-(2.32 MB, 1986x1108, kender guide.png)
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>>22196729
And when he gets back, Janine, Hatamoto and Us will take turns holding him down and beating him.

Normally I'd consider Ivan, but I don't think his rage is enough to match ours atm.

Actually since we're getting ready to go to war, we should read about Kender to get ourselves in the properly hating mindset.
>>
>>22196786
Who sent us that?
>>
>>22196786
>asinine cat video emails still exist in future workplace
yep, seems right.
>>
>>22196786
Goddamit, Ivan, NOW IS NOT THE TIME!
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>>22196786
Oh Ivan, you wonderful motherfucker you.

Let's get to work, let's get that Myomer done. Who cares about our possible impending death.

>>22196812
Ivan, he sometimes sends us funny cat videos.
>>
>>22196812
Probably Ivan.
He's been doing that lately.
>>
>>22196729

DAMN STRAIGHT Goddard will be back, or we'll bring him back and kill him for getting himself killed.
>>
>>22196798
I think the upcoming construction roll will give us more than enough hate.
>>
>>22196824
>>22196826
>>22196828
>then it turns out it was sent by Goddard
>>
>>22196835
Secret message, in the cat?
>>
>>22196850
Zoom!
Enhance!
>>
>>22196835
Ivan's sent us lolcats before.
Goddard usually stopped by our office.
Since he hasn't stopped by in days, it'd make more sense for him to send us something important.

>>22196850
Why would he need to? If he was being help captive, I doubt his captors would allow him to send unfunny E-Mails
>>
>>22196850
>>22196857
>the message turns out merely to be that even as we leap at the obvious target of the pirates, we have failed to notice the invisible wall right before us
>>
>>22196770
>>22196826
>>22196830

You crack your knuckles and hunker down.

You have some choices to make, Daniel.

Your 'Mech so far is designed to be reliable, work-horsey, but also fast. Your chassis is kinf of odd looking with its roomy torso and longer legs built for speed. But now you have to decide if you want to try to apply your myomer coverage to give any benefit or special operation, like stronger arms for lifting or making the legs really really sturdy, or adjusting the stride for a certain ride, etc.

Discussion time.
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>>22196904
Really sturdy legs so we can run faster for longer periods of time.
>>
>>22196904
Extra sturdy legs is probably a good one.
The only things I can really think of for myomar is an extra-high step to help get up steeper surfaces, but that's pretty situation specific.
>>
I want to make the legs really sturdy for one, let's review our older designs and see if there's potential for jump-jet capability, because we'd then have a garrison mech and a scout variant we could make.

We should think of a garrison mech - what will they do other than patrol? I'm thinking work, heavy lifting maybe.

What else?
>>
>>22196904
We could make the knees ball-jointed and put myomar on all sides so the legs can bend in any direction, hopefully reducing the amount of catastrophic damage taken when knocked over.
>>
>>22196904
Since we've already got the long legs let's try to get them sturdy as all fuck and good at handling tough uneven terrain, such as hills, rubble fields, mud, muck, swamp, all of that. We want this to be an all terrain mech.

Since we're going to be putting the weaponry in the torso to make use of how modular it is we can optimize the arms towards things like lifting, grasping and punching.
>>
>>22196967

I think we already designed the knees, and making ball-jointed knees might make for a wobbly mech. Not to mention there just aren't many good ways to armor it.
>>
>>22196904
Strong arms and hands for greater utility. Ripping up trees, smashing buildings, falcon punching, moving stuff, making off with loot, putting a Vedette on top of a building...
>>
>>22196904
Durability is key. Arrange the myomer so that a hit to the limbs is less likely to compromise its ability to move. I assume that in the process, we will be compartmentalizing the myomer more than usual, so that damage to one part of the "muscle" is unlikely to bleed over into others.

My optimism leads me to believe this will also improve heat management. Of course, we'll roll a 98 on this.
>>
>>22196965
Heavy lifting, large welding projects (I'm pretty sure there are mech-scale hand held welding torches) possibly search and rescue if used in hilly terrain.
>>
Well, if we're going to make strong arms, why not go all out?

>we grappler mech now
>>
>>22196967
I'm not entirely sure about that, that might make them wobbly, easier to knock over, mad at some terrain, and it doesn't seem sturdy.
>>
>>22196965

(garrison mechs are called to do all sorts of stuff, which is why the HZP has hands, because it is expected of that role. scouting, lifting, construction, S&R, biohazard, etc are some of the things expected. basically, a jack-of-all-trades capable frame is what most garrisons want)
>>
>>22196967
That'd also likely make the Mech more finniky, and harder to maintain.

Or main selling point is it's durability and reliability.


Honestly, I want the Mech to be something like the T-34 of light Mechs, not the best, but cheap and reliable.

Honestly, rather than going for anything fancy, lets go with durabiltiy and ease of maintenence.

(In the future, we might want to use a different brand for high preformance Mechs, if we're trying to build the 'Svorek Tough' reputation.)
>>
>>22197023

>T-34 of light Mechs, not the best, but cheap and reliable.

Bro, with the way this mech has been designed? It's superior to many, many of the other Light 'mechs.
>>
>>22197042
What I ment was that we should try to push the envelope in any paticular area.

Rather than have the absolute fastest mech, it's better to have a slightly slower one that can actually take a hit.

I'd rather be good in all fields, than exceptional in one and mediocre in the rest.

That said, we should look into having a high parts commonality with future designs, to make them easier to handle, logistically.
>>
Looks like tough, reliable, all-terrain, and ease of maintenance are all what you're shooting for, with the suggestion to add compartmentalized myomer to ease replacement and act as a buffer in case one gets damaged, the rest are fine. This would lead the legs to look a bit odd, but stands a good chance of being a key selling point since these types of myomer don't exist yet (but will soon, due to a certain type of Myomer enhancement technology in the works right now), so it could be interesting.

It would be a 10 modifier to the roll, but would have 100% chance for a positive quirk, maybe more.
>>
>>22197042
T34 was better than a lot of german armor, dude.
>>
>>22197085
Make it so and roll well. The compartmentalizing of it ought to be interesting.

Man, when we show this off to investors any of them who know engineering are going to need new pants given how many small innovations we're packing into this baby.
>>
Alright, I want
>Durable placement / compartmentalization / redundancy
>Awesome leg range of motion and durability
>Reinforced arms for all dat liftin' powah!
>Is this something that we need to keep dust / contaminants free of? How to seal off if so?
>Kung-fu chopping action. Just because.
>>
>>22197085
That seems really good, besides, chances are that if we fail, we fail, HARD.

IIRC we've only passed ONCE on a narrow roll.

>>22197094
You know what, nevermind, forget I said anything.
>>
>>22197113

Do you all want to add arm modifiers to this too? Just making them good at lifting/carrying Or fine motor skill/fine work is no modifier, but doing both is another 5 to the roll.
>>
>>22197094
Oh yeah, the T-34 was a great tank, in addition to being cheap and easy to produce. It was mobile, had good sloped armor and a nice gun. I love the T-34.

Though I love the Panther more, damn that was an amazing tank.

>>22197142
We may as well go all the way, add the extra 5.

Can we fiddle with the leg myomer and the arm myomer stuff separately? Like if we get the legs going how we want but the arms seem finicky can we fix the arms and just leave the legs alone?
>>
>>22197142

I think it's worth the extra time to get this right. +15 to the roll, we do / redo until it's right.
>>
>>22197142
I think fine Motor skill would be better, you can use a bigger mech to carry heavier stuff, but I would think a Mech with fine motor skills would be harder to find.

Although the increased strength would be better for SVOREK TOUGH,
>>
>>22197113
If we want to be good at lifting and kung-fu action, why not use TSM?

Forgive me if I'm asking something unreasonable. I haven't been a regular of these threads, so I don't know the whole situation.
>>
>>22197166

You can make them two seprarate rolls if that's what you mean, 5 to one and 10 to the other, but your focus on one or the other, depending on rolls, might not leave time to get the other done before the clock strikes DOOM.
>>
>>22197142
Yeah, add that extra 5 to the roll.
We're likely to fail hard, so the harder it is, the easier it'll be to figure out that something's wrong.
>>
>>22197191

(TSM isn't around yet, at least out of experimental stages, but that's why I hinted about the compartmental myomer, because TSM uses that)
>>
>>22197195
Oh, in that case, let's take the +10 and the Motor skills, you can always find a bigger mech to carry stuff.

We don't want to waste time fiddling around with the small details, if we have extra time, we can come back to the arms.
>>
>>22197195
Okay, let's do the +10 for the leg stuff and give the arms good motor control. When we have time later we'll make them Super Strong, but I don't want any more penalties for making our legs into super tough legs.
>>
I had a thought just now. If most of our weapons are torso-mounted, don't we want to be able to turn THAT quickly?
>>
>>22197209
Wait, what's the year?

If its after 3040, we can use Industrial TSM.
>>
>>22197166
The Aeneas is the T-34 of Mechs - It's tough, it's reliable, it's got good armor and good firepower...

There's better mechs in its weight class, yeah. But that's like comparing a T-34 to a Panther - Yeah, Panther's goddamn amazing in a fight, but it's expensive as shit, breaks down, and there's not a lot of them. But for every Panther you have, we have three T-34s, and ours are working fine with vodka instead of engine oil.

So there's better mechs out there. But better mechs comparable in it's price bracket? No. If you want a good mech, on a budget, that you can let rust for ten years then pull out of storage and it'll creak like a gypsy's grandmother, but otherwise be good to hand that Jenner it's ass?

Skvorec Tough baby. Skvorec Tough.
>>
>>22197256

(it's 3040 exactly. So... soon maybe? But not right now. plus you don't have the ability to manufacture the catalyst)
>>
>>22195208
It IS 3040, hence not out yet, but soon.
>>
Seems like you all want to roll legs and arms separate?

If so, next post is the engineering roll.
>>
>>22197293
No to mention that when it does come out, it's going to be expensive as fuck, until is enters mass production and penetration.

Like the price of LED bulbs compared to Incandescents.
>>
>>22197313

DO EET!

I shall sacrifice my Christmas presents for the dice gods if they show us great favor!
>>
>>22197313
Let's do this! LEGS!
>>
>>22195628

YES, i love that game

how the fuck is it working on your computer in this day and age
>>
>>22197363
I'm still running windows XP, so I can still run it normally.

It makes taking screenshots a bitch though, because it forces you to enter 256 colours.
>>
Rolled 62

>>22197336
>>22197338

Rolling for durable/reliable leg myomer bundling, and compartmentalizing the myomer to assist in maintenance and damage resistance, 10 modifier to the roll.

Lower is better.
>>
>>22197397
Well fuck, would we have passed without the +10?
>>
>>22197397
Ow. Fuckaduck. I don't even... At least I still get Xcom.
>>
>>22197397
Well, it could be worse.
>>
>>22195628
What game is this from?
>>
Rolled 23

>>22197397
You managed to roll low once for this entire quest and I keep seeing evidence that it will never happen again.
>>
>>22197405
>>22197419
>>22197425

Hours pass, and you become frustrated.

You can't seem to make the compartments not interfere with ankle movement on the lower leg. Nothing you try seems to work right now, and for the time being, you give up.

Cigarettes and coffee are a welcome distraction as you try to re-align your frazzled nerves and your frazzled brain. It seems you're not as distracted from the inevitable as you wished you were.

A knock at your door startles you for a moment, but you compose yourself easily.
>>
>>22197471

(twice actually, I think...)
>>
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>>22197397
I picture Daniel as a slightly incompetent engineer who gets flashes of brilliance that allow him to make great strides forwards, but only after a lot of time getting frustrated.

YES KIRCHEIS I AM FRUSTRATED, VERY MUCH SO!
>>
>>22197474
Ask who it is and invite them in. Offer them a cigarette unless its Ilsa.
>>
>>22197493

Nah, Daniel is very competent, he just looks too hard at things and fails to notice simple solutions.
>>
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Pic related.
>>
>>22197510
If he was so damn competent, he would succeed more than 25% of the time.
>>
If we ever come up with something so innovative that it could change all future 'Mech designs, everywhere, we will roll a 100, and all the database servers will explode. Even the backups.
>>
>>22197496

The door creaks open and Janine ducks in.

"I can't say I'm surprised to see you working. I did the same thing for a while. Got to the point where I couldn't invent anymore work to do, so I wandered around, got in the way a little on the tarmac, and now I'm here. Do you need anything? An empty ashtray? I just feel like I need something to do. The waiting is killing me."

She takes the cigarette you half offered until you realized it was her and lights it.

"Shut up." she says with a fake glare.
>>
>>22197541

You have obviously never designed things in your life.
>>
>>22197609
Fine then, YOU explain the terrible dice rolls without using 'bad luck', 'dice gods hate us', or '/tg/ dice'.
>>
>>22197541
>>22197609
Designing and implementing are 90% staring at a screen/sheet of paper, and 10% actually writing, writing, or drawing.

It gets worse if you've got to troubleshoot, debug, or have long compile times.
>>
>>22197397
Come on man.

Step it up.

If you're going to keep rolling shitty, at least allow us to roll, and do something like take the average or any crits (Doubles? Nat 1s?) that happen.

You keep rolling shitty - Stop that.
>>
>>22197628

Anontech sucks at rolling.
>>
>>22197588
"A fresh set of eyes would really help. Getting everything to fit where I want it to is a real pain; I feel like there's an obvious problem I'm missing that someone else would catch as soon as they saw it."

Introduce her to wireframe hell and give her a basic overview of what we're doing, if she wants it. It will give her something to do, and keep our mind off of the approaching pirate skirmish. Hell, she might even actually spot an error.
>>
>>22197588
"We might be dead tomorrow, good time to smoke.

As for me needing anything, well, you still need to get me my futon, I'm kidding.

I can't think straight, I know what I want, I just can't get it to come out right. Impending doom makes for one hell of a distraction.

Since you're looking for something to do want to join me in my little place of designing hell where I'm trying to make the legs work?"
>>
>>22197588

"Just trying to finangle the myomer setup. Want to go with something damn sturdy, have this idea for compartmentalized myomer to reduce damage, but nothing's coming out yet. Need to go over the design again, think about it, see what comes up. Other than that... eh, not a whole lot I need, I guess, unless you want to stare at the design? From the mouths of babes and all that. Kids, that is. Not necessarily babe in the womanly sense. I'm not hitting on you."

Wait a beat.

"The prospect of near death is making me babble, sorry."
>>
>>22197634
Been there, done that, design work is actually fairly easy if you already know what you're trying to design, what makes it hard is that designers tend to be hired by people who don't actually have the slightest clue what they want and will give a list of requirements that actively work against their desires.

committees are assholes.
>>
>>22197669
So what you're saying is people are assholes.

Welcome to the internet, you must be new here.
>>
>>22197689
no, I'm saying Committees are assholes, people being assholes is nothing new, asshole by consensus on the other hand is weird.
>>
>>22197641

(i dunno if you were here for the explanation of rolling in this quest but simply put 'failure' isn't unless you roll so badly that it's unavoidable, which is hard. it just means more time passes till you get it right, or give up and try something else to make life easier/meet that big deadline. i'm not excusing it, i'm just explaining in case you, or maybe someone else who is new, doesn't know what it means to 'fail' a roll. well, a design/engineering roll anyway)
>>
>>22197669
If this company succeeds, we might end up being the committee. And then we can tell the fresh young engineers that we want a 'Mech that can scale sheer surfaces but has no elbow or hand actuators.

We can call it the Icepick.
>>
>>22197703
So what you're saying is a group of people, people being known to be assholes, are also assholes?

A group of assholes is also an asshole?

Come on man. You're smarter than that.
>>
>>22197645
So 'bad luck' then?
>>
>>22197654
>>22197667
>>22197668

She leans over and looks at the screen.

"Oh god, is this what your day looks like? How are you not insane already?"

She squints and takes a drag. "This thing looks really... odd. Does it have armor on it yet, or is it gonna be that skinny when we build it? I get the feeling this is a dumb question... you did mention myomer. Hm. What are these tubes in the legs? There are a ton of them."
>>
>>22197708
You keep rolling shitty. Every time. This is A Problem. Fix it.

Either let us roll, and find some way to conglomerate rolls by multiple people, resulting in a bell-curve like distribution, switch it around so that high rolls are good, resulting in us being a phenominally good engineer because you seem to be incapable of rolling below 50 on a regular basis, or some other solution that my alcohol-addled brain is having trouble thinking of.

Either way, your rolls are shit. Fix it.
>>
>>22197752 here
Seriously man - You're like that GM that makes a super-imposing dracolich, builds him up to be an undefeatable demi-god tier super big evil guy, then rolls nat ones all throughout his combat encounter. Come on man. You're better than that. Step it up.
>>
>>22197738
Tell her about our plans for the armor and myomer.

"There are no dumb questions when you're completely outside your field. I'd have to be a little bit insane to make this work, anyway."
>>
>>22197738

"Those tubes are the myomer, yeah. And nah, this is what we call Wireframe Hell. Once the HZP's actually built it'll be... well, a mech. Not there's not skinny mechs, but it'll have good armor on it."
>>
>>22197738
"You don't know anything about mech design do you? It's understandable, you can do everything else and I can only do this. I am insane by the way. All engineers are insane, if we weren't we couldn't do our job.

The armor isn't on yet, it'd be kinda silly for me to put it on before I have all the internal stuff done, need to make it fit snugly on everything.

The myomer is that tube stuff. It's muscle but for giant robots.

What I'm trying to do is compartmentalize it so that if the leg gets damaged and some of the muscle gets damaged only a bit of it isn't working to make it easier to replace and easier to make redundant muscle so it'll keep on working even if some of it gets blown up. It's like if you took a human leg and put a dozen little stretches of muscle between the knee and the foot."
>>
>>22197798
"Trust me, the armour adds alot to the bulk, it looks skinny now, but when we plate this baby up, it'll look like a giant hulking monstosity. Which is what we're aiming for"
>>
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>>22197772
I think you're getting a bit up in arms over something that really isn't that major, chap. Horrible ineptitude is a major part of most good quests. It isn't like Anontech is the only one.
>>
>>22197752
>>22197772

(you.. want me to make the dice roller do what you want it to do?

cause that's what it sounds like. i dunno man, you seem kinda angry about this for no reason. dice are random. sometimes you roll a ton of bad rolls in a row, even though probability dictates that is not very well, probable.

does this really affect your ability to enjoy the quest? the notion of being able to brainstorm new ideas not seen in Battletech, the freedom to make whatever mech the group wants... this is all trumped by the DM's funky dice?

If that's the case I don't know if this quest is actually good enough to continue running if bad rolls that just push deadlines and don't get people killed or cause catastrophic failure are enough to ruin it for the players.

If you all wanna pause the quest and discuss this, feel free. I'm not sure I want to continue right now anyway.)
>>
>>22197841
I find it frustrating at times that we can't roll well, but it's not that big a deal. /tg/ dice are often uncooperative. It's part of life.

I'd like to keep on going.
>>
>>22197841

It's one guy throwing a bitchfit, anontech, I think 99% of your players enjoy the quest as-is. Failure's part of life and so far no one's died because we took an extra couple of days to work the 'mech out.

Shit, we're still ahead of schedule when it comes ot finishing the design anyway, even with the setbacks and stuff.
>>
>>22197867
Seconding this notion.
>>
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>>22197841
If you don't want to continue, it's fine. We've all been there from time to time, and I can't blame you. I can however say that, at least in this anon's opinion, the horrible rolls are part of the Fun. Not fun, Fun. Quests should be Fun, and this one is definitely Fun.
>>
>>22197841
It's not a big enough issue to say "STOP THE QUEST IT IS SHIT BAD ROLLS RUIN EVERYTHING" but when we fail every single roll it gets a bit annoying. Keep going - I enjoy your threads very much, and earlier today I found myself wondering when the next one would be, and anticipating it.

Today's my birthday, and one of my favorite quest threads is defintely a good present. Despite your terrible luck with /tg/dice, and your habit of running this at midnight to too-early-in-the-morning, keep it up Anontech - You're a good quest runner.

Don't you dare stop just because I had a tad too much to drink and said "Yo dawg pass the dice yo rolls are shit" - If you stop, I will find you. The rest of that does not need to be said, because it is vaguely threatening on it's own.
>>
>>22197881

(I just want to get input from everyone. I don't abide by unhappy players if there is a reasonable way to make them enjoy the game more. i'm not gonna hand out free wins or anything but talking things out and making the game enjoyable for all isn't anathema to me. to the contrary, i'd rather drop a game than run it and not have it be as entertaining and fun as it could/should be. so i want opinions out in the open regarding this stuff, that's all)
>>
>>22197928
I want you to roll 5d100 right now. Just for fun. No bearing on the quest.
>>
>>22197927

(happy birthday, apparently i got you several extra hours of headaches and an assistant who doesn't know anything about mech design, with a side of possible death.

i left the receipt in the box, just in case)
>>
>>22197928
You just got my opinion - If I was you, I'd try public rolling rather than GM rolling for a touch and see how that worked out, but otherwise? Keep it up, this is great fun to watch and even better fun to participate in by staying up till godawful early.
>>
>>22197928

Frankly, it's a tossup between speed adn interaction. If you have us roll the dice and average/take first/take crits, it takes longer. Given as I am east coast and have to be up early most times, I end up missing most of the quest, so speed is a priority for me--the faster you decide what happens, the more I get to see, the happier I am.
>>
>>22197944
Yeah, do this. Let's see what happens.

Come on. You know you want to.

Do it fgt
>>
Rolled 7, 92, 44, 7, 12 = 162

>>22197944

(Five 100s says Janine pushes a button by accident and the HZP is 100% finished and perfect in every way)
>>
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>>22197967
>Two sevens, a twelve, a 92, and a 44
>>
>>22197967

Holy fuck.
>>
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>>22197967
>>
Anontech... I love this quest. Please continue it. Some pissy bitch-and-moaners don't seem to understand that rolling poorly isn't THAT big of a deal, and they're being massive THAT GUYs about it (or as I like to call them, flaming thundercunts).

Seriously, I love this quest. Please continue, and try to ignore the bitchy one or two guys.
>>
>>22197949
Honestly, I think it's because the players feel like they have a lack of control over how the dice work.

Normally in a quest, if someone rolls badly constantly, they'll typically refrain from rolling or let someone else do the rolling.

In this case we can't do anything about the bad rolls because the dm's making all the rolls, so we feel kind of helpless with all these terrible rolls going on.

(Yes it's all random chance, but the fact is that normally we could at least have the illusion of trying to change it.)
>>
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>>22197967
My left torso and right torso are moving on their own.
>>
>>22198004
*Cont
Hell, asking the players "High or Low?" could resolve this issue, you could take the majority votes, roll the dice, and we'd get to CHOSE weather or not to screw up, rather than it being a given, you know?
>>
>>22198004

(I understand that. But like >>22197957 said, often it's about speed. I am almost literally running this quest past the time I should be sleeping almost every time with my new job, and I don't want to stop running it due to work. I've already had to go down to once a week, that's bad enough. speed makes it slightly easier on me too.

plus i've noticed people seem to freak out more in a positive way when -I- roll low; like massive suspense = payoff or something. i dunno. i'm not emo about it, just tired, and not phrasing things like i should probably.

just wanted to clear the air

>>22197978
>>22197982
>>22197991

I dunno WHAT it means.)
>>
>>22198042
Overall, it's well below average. I said it would have no bearing on the quest, but it'd be nice if Janine actually had an insight, on some completely unrelated matter.
>>
>>22198042
How about this, when throwing out the Ideas in the design phase, we also state if we want high or low, that way when you roll the dice, you already have consenus, without wasting extra time voting.

Like "let's take the +10 roll and manual dexterity, voting high." or something like that?
>>
>>22198065

(well if you all feel the air is clear then we can continue, and we'll see)
>>
>>22197967
These rolls are as follows -
>She says something oddly intuitive
>Our brain fills with fuck
>Our brain begins to make sense
>Our brain thinks we can press three buttons and make it perfect
>Our brain realizes we can't and stops us from bashing our heads into the keyboard when it doesn't remotely work.

What if we try smoking two cigarettes at the same time, while drinking double-brewed coffee (black) and throw darts at a board? Surely that will jog our minds!
>>
>>22198067

(high or low works for me if that's what everyone wants. messes with my stat system but the math isn't complicated or anything to switch back and forth.)
>>
>>22198083
Well if you want a conversion, just take the roll, subtract that number from 100, and that would be the equivilant of rolling low.

So 10 high would be 100 - 10 = 90 low, HUGE FAILURE.
>>
>>22198113

(I know, i did say it wasn't complicated. just waiting on everyone to chime in.

i feel bad we paused the quest for this but it seems sort of important. though a lot of people also seem to just want to carry on as usual too, from the previous comments

i probably should have waited to discuss this till another date. i'd rather not ruin anon's birthday by derailing the quest any further

I guess we can figure this out later. i'll take a vote at the beginning of the next thread, how's that?)
>>
>>22198132
Sure, whatever, now then, I have a feeling that Daniel's ulcer is starting to shrink, WE CANNOT LET THAT HAPPEN!
>>
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>>22198113
Sir, I am very tired.

My brain is looking at what you typed, thinking "This should totally make sense!"

However, my brain is pic related.
>>
>>22198001
Even the That Guy agrees - Don't stop now. If my bitching is such a big issue, Ill gladly sideline it in favor of more mech engineering.
>>
"So these tubes are the myomers themselves? Why are they all singly distributed?"

You blink. She seems to have a point. You might be able to do something with bundles... maybe forgoing the 'tube' shape for something that fits together better... like a wedge shape, to get three or four bundled together?

Of course, there's the chance that this is just another dead-end. But hey, you're an engineer; you metabolize coffee and nicotine into designs, and dead-ends are just genius that's being difficult. Right?
>>
>>22198186
"You might be right. Fuck the tube shape, if I braid them together right, have them widen after the anchor points to get them in a wedge that applies the force better at joints and anchor point, I might be able to compartmentalize it more. It might solve my ankle problem.

Janine, you're a genius, if I didn't think you'd hurt me I'd kiss you right now."
>>
>>22198132
I personally don't see anything wrong with our current system. Although posting some kind of general degrees of success might be nice.
I do like it the way it is though
>>
>>22198237
as a game designer i can see why people may get bitchy about it, not necessarily anything wrong with it but the human brain is easy to lead to conclusions, the illusion of player choice against a purely chance based system can very easily make people either think they have rotten luck or the game is cheating them out of their rightfully earned success. It all comes down to the presentation of mechanics and the giving the player an illusion of control.

but seriously this is a quest using /tg/ dice and things would be no different if changed, the way it is now is efficient so stick with it.
>>
>>22198230
Seconded. ededededed.
>>
>>22198280
with that rant over lets get back to the quest, give Janine a hug for helping us have an epiphany and start converting those cigarettes into investor C-bills
>>
(seems a bunch of people disappeared. i guess the derail drove them off or something.

sorry about that everyone, hope you don't think too ill of me over it)

>>22198230

She smirks. "Yeah, I might. But if I gave you a good idea, even without knowing what the hell I am talking about, then good on me I guess."

She steps back and stops blocking your computer.

"Maestro?"
>>
>>22198280
I know, and in fact, i agree with you completely on this point, anyways, it is time for engineering, yes?
>>
>>22198280
>>22198299
How about we try it for a thread or two, and see if it works in the next thread or not?

It doesn't really seem that difficult try out.
>>
>>22198297
"Good on you indeed. Just out of curiosity how much would you hurt me?"

Get to our computer and let's do this myomer stuff.
>>
>>22198299
LET THE ENGINEERINGS BEGININGS
>>
Alright guys, derail over, come on, back to playing Legos with giant death machines.

I say, reroll!

>Have at thee, /tg/ dice!
>>
>>22198230
>Janine, you're a genius"
>kiss her
>>
>>22198297
Crack our knuckles, and let's show those myomers whose in charge here.
>>
>>22198324
>>22198330
TO ZEE ENGINEERING!
>/tg/ dice are NO MATCH for SKVOREC TOUGH engineering
>>
Rolled 83

>>22198299
>>22198319
>>22198324

Janine folds her arms. "I guess it depends on how rubbery you are."

You start to drag vectors and change shapes, running new checks with each major change. the non-cylindrical bundles seem to test okay, but these are just prelims; you'd have to actually see what the bundles would do in the real world shaped like this to know for sure. At the very least you can just ditch them for standard myomer bundes; at this point you're designing theory (albeit theory that will work if you do it right).

(same roll as before, 10 mod for the compartmentalization)
>>
>>22198330
Goddamn, we're not even cool enough for Lego, we're playing with IMAGINARY Lego.
>>
>>22198319

>"Good on you indeed. Just out of curiosity how much would you hurt me?"

And then lets find out with applied self experimentation.
>>
>>22198357
Curse you /tg/ dice.
>>
>>22198357
>>22198376

You get to the point where you've added a third sub-bundle to the grouping and an alarm pop-up opens, warning about intolerable stresses in the first two bunches.

You curse.

"Problem?" Janine asks.

You explain that it seems like if you intertwine them this way, it'll cause the outer bundles to tear when the 'Mech reaches top speeds. If it were slower they'd be fine. But as-is, you can't see them working unless you manage to figure out a bundle configuration that works.

She frowns. "You see that light a lot? Not that I'm criticizing, but... how nerve-wracking is your job really? Seems to me like you'd be a candidate for cardiac arrest in a few years."
>>
>>22198434
>Seems to me like you'd be a candidate for cardiac arrest in a few years

"You're right, I should see about designing myself a second heart."
>>
>>22198434
"If I need a new heart, I make one. Any engineer that doesn't have problems come up either isn't working on anything worthwhile, or he's lying."
>>
>>22198434
Bah, puny human organs have no place in a true engineer. I shall make a new one from caffeine and nicotine.
>>
I thought they called them Techs not Engineers.
>>
>>22198434
"Yeah, me and that light are good friends at this point.

It is nerve-wracking, but mainly because I choose it to be. I mean I could make a boring mech with no bells and whistles pretty damn easily. But I don't want that, I want Hazard Pay to be the toughest, most reliable, versatile, badass little mech that's been made in hundreds of years. I want other engineers to look at the specs and need new pants and for anyone who sees it coming at them on the battlefield to need new pants for entirely different reasons.

So I try new things, innovate like a motherfucker, I work 14 hours a day, I bash my head against metaphorical walls until the wall breaks or my head does.

And I also drink a lot of coffee and smoke a lot of cigarettes. If I didn't have other people around reminding me I'd probably forget to eat."
>>
>>22198444
>>22198460
>>22198473

Janine gigglesnorts. "Oh god, you're insane. I guess this is what a real engineer is like. Richard was a lump.

So what are you going to do here? I'm afraid a second genius idea that would illicit molestation from you if not for physical threat from me is unlikely. Is there a way for you to fix this before neither of us get any sleep and we all die tomorrow?"
>>
>>22198460
>>22198473

Anontech, these comments should wed in the holiest matrimony of awesome ever to spew forth from our guys mouth. Also, I vote we come back to the legs, we do arms / upper body for now.
>>
>>22198496
actually I did >>22198473
This is also the first of these I've managed to catch live. Other than what this quest has shown me, I have no idea what any of this stuff is.
>>
>>22198495
"Dunno, depends on the time. I'll want a good night's sleep before people try to kill us, so I'll probably give it another shot, maybe deal with the upper body myomer before taking another look at the legs, and get some sleep. Or I could get dinner, I haven't eaten since lunch. Yeah, dinner sounds good, care to join me?"
>>
>>22198496

(i guess it's convenient then that i am an ordained internet minister. i'll work up a marriage license for them for next quest)

>>22198511
(i'd suggest reading the other threads then, just to get an idea what's going on. foolz might be easier, though I have most of them linked at the beginning of this thread too. welcome to the madness)
>>
>>22198495
"Maybe there is."
Let's try one more try at this before getting some sleep.
>>
>>22198530
I've read all of them already, usually around when they came out, so in a way I've been with the madness from the start, just never live.
>>
>>22198495

Would there be a way to attach the myomer at a higher point and use cable / whateverfuturetoysareavailable to try and connect it with basically a big "tendon"?

If we do several that way and spread the contacts out like Janine suggested, we could probably fit a lot more in there and take up less space within the same "area", all while distributing the myomer out over a longer distance and thereby increasing durability.
>>
>>22198544

(ahh, i getcha now. misread the comment at first. well welcome to battletech! sarna.net is a fun place to start looking at random interesting stuff, and you might learn more if you stick with us)
>>
>>22198557
cool beans anyways, to engineering.
>>
>>22198519
This sounds good. Our brain needs fuel to support our mech designing, and our body needs fuel to help keep our brain alive for continued mech designing.
First time responder to the thread, been following the archives and hope I get another chance to chip in; it's approaching 2 AM though, and I need to turn in. As for dice? We're guiding a new (though skilled) Mech engineer working on an ambitious project. It's a tough job, our first real solo effort, and we aren't a genius engineer yet. Multiple attempts before success are to be expected. One suggestion - can we get bonuses for re-rolls if we don't change design features between rolls, representing invested effort? If we don't change what we're doing, then we can just go over what we've already done to see what's wrong, and don't have to do everything from scratch again.
>>
Rolled 63

>>22198543
>>22198552
>>22198491

You think about it for a second, while pacing a little.

You catch yourself thinking about Janine dressed up for the arms dealer, but the engineer in your brain takes inappropriate and turns it into inspiration.

You decide that maybe tendons are the answer, after picturing her calf in your head. Most 'Mechs use myomer and attach it straight to the frame. You could try the tendon idea; it'd add more flexibility to where you place the myomer in the leg and thigh.

(last attempt before it gets too close to the deadline to continue designing, unless you want to while the bullets are possibly flying. daniel is likely hardcore enough to try this, i imagine.)
>>
>>22198434
Is there any way we could make smaller bundles? Like two or three then laid out around the skeleton in strips?
>>
>>22198616
Can we get a bonus on this due to bashing our head against a wall for a while, having our stern muse with us, and having a good idea inspiring us?
>>
>>22198616
That would be strangely amusing. Would also mean we are dedicated as fuck to this project.... I now have an image of Daniel angrily telling everybody involved in the fight to keep it down so he can work.
>>
>>22198616
Well, times of stress do not make for good concentration. I doubt whatever bonus my tendon idea gave was mitigated by that roll and the initial difficulty increase. Oh well, sleep and get ready for shootin' pirates.
>>
>>22198616
Eh, looks like we should just grab some grub and try to unwind a bit. This looks like something to sleep on for now.
>>
>>22198632
>>22198643
>>22198663

(the sad part is you are very close to success with the 63 and the 62)

It's coming together, just not right. Of course, you're trying everything new basically, and none of this is previously broken ground, so what're a few speed bumps? The idea is solid, and you know how the -theory- works, but you just need to get around pesky physics and its laws.

Tired, hungry, and defeated-in-a-way-that-drives-you-onward, you suggest a last meal, and Janine agrees.

"What'll it be? Sandwiches or cold bacon and waffles?"

(I hate to call it here guys, but I have to sleep. 2am and I work in 6-ish hours. Thanks for bearing with this tonight, and hopefully the next thread goes smoother. my apologies.

I'll archive and stick around for a few minutes to Q&A, but then I have to jet. i'm sorry)
>>
>>22198738
Holy crap, we live in the same timezone!
Oh wow, I really feel sorry for all those Eastcoasters who had the thread start at midnight!
>>
>>22198738
Jeez, 6 hours? Get some fucking sleep dude.

As for the rage about rolling, don't worry about it.

I raised a stink the first time it happened mostly because it was fun to complain.

Either way (you rolling, us roling) it doesn't really matter.

It's probably more realistic to do it this way even if is frustrating to be on the cusp. I think we really just want to be awesome and the dice are the reality check of why there is shitty advancement in battletech.
>>
>>22198782

Yeah, I wish I could run earlier, but by the time I get home, shower, eat, and do all my stuff around the house, earliest I can get on is 9pm PST. It bums me out to shut out all the east-coasters, since I used to be one till this year, but... RL has to come first.
>>
Well, damn. I wish I could just pull a 1 out of thin air and give this plan to Daniel.

So, my vote is for cold bacon and sandwiches, but I'm greedy.

Also, I like the one quick roll. RNG doesn't lie, although I would like a degrees of success / failure announced, that's my sole wish for change. Nice thread, Anontech!
>>
>>22198793

Now that you mention it that is a really good explanation for why the Battletech universe at this time has little innovation and more 'please god let us find more LosTech'.

Brilliant.
>>
Rolled 84

>>22198738
See you next time. When can we we expect more of you?

Damn /tg/ dice, unable to roll below 50 for us, though if we switched to high rolls they'd probably just never roll above 50.

For the rolling thing, I can think of a few things that may help us with the dice's fickle nature. Making failed rolls take less time as we notice the mistake and problems quicker than it would take to do the whole thing and put all the finishing touches on, successive attempts at something getting a bonus as we'll get insights from earlier work, know what mistakes not to repeat, and maybe salvage some good groundwork from earlier tries, and making sure we get appropriate circumstantial bonuses like a clever idea and implementation of it, having our stern muse with us, that sort of thing.

Also we have to decide whether we're going to kiss Janine before the attack, after the attack or both.

Rolling for no reason.
>>
>>22198826
Kiss her if we survive, then she won't kill us and we can blame it on the euphoria of being alive. Also, I'm glad you weren't rolling for us right there, lol.
>>
>>22198826

Bitter irony, that roll.

As far as time... well maybe next Saturday. I was gonna run yesterday but I wasn't in the best off moods to do so, and I guess that carried over a bit today, considering that little derail, which I take responsibility for.

Sorry again.
>>
>>22198826
>>22198856
What, no consideration for Ilsa?
>>
Archive is up at http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com

just click archive.

Vote if you enjoyed, though I doubt this thread will get as many votes, and likely rightly so. But still, if you enjoyed the not-derail parts, please do vote.

I got a few more minutes to burn.
>>
>>22198885
You really need to not be so hard on yourself.

p.s. Merry x-mas.
>>
>>22198902

Maybe so, but if the quest gets better, I'm glad to self-criticize. I work in the culinary field, so it's nothing new Anon.

Also, happy birthday to the b-day Anon again. Hope you get some decent swag for the big day.
>>
Wait. Did the whole 'kidnapping' thing go on off screen? Cause I'm not seeing it in the previous quests at Suptg?
>>
>>22198902

And also merry X-mas to you too.
>>
>>22198866
She's a nice girl annd utterly adorable, but she's already in a relationship with the Crazy Ivan.

Also she's a bit young and we work with her Mother and Uncle which might make things awkward.

I don't see her as a good relationship choice for Daniel. Janine is a lot more grounded, mature, and they already spend a lot of time together. Ilsa is rather excitable and we need someone stable. Also I think Janine understands our obsessive workaholic nature better and could work with that as part of a relationship better than Ilsa would.

That and I've always liked stern but quite hot blonde women wearing suits. I think she's blonde at least.
>>
>>22198934

Yeah, kinda.

It happened due to a lot of factors that Daniel wasn't a part of, and it's in no way his fault either.
>>
>>22198946

MechEngineer Quest: the Waifu-ning.
>>
>>22198948
Roger. Merry Christmas AT.
>>
>>22198954
We'll have romantic evenings of us obsessively designing Mechs, her dealing with paperwork and financials and barely saying a word as we're both absorbed in our work. Then we both take a break, complain about our problems to vent, and get back to it.

Romance is always going to be trumped in important and focus by MECHS, which is how it should be.
>>
>>22198959

Same to you.

And to everyone in the thread, and even those who aren't. May you all get grand levels of dosh and or swag for your chosen holiday.

And a damn good dinner never hurt either.

Night everyone.
>>
>>22198946
A bit young?
She's, at most 2 or 3 years younger than us, and we're 22.

She's dropped out of college a year or two back, according to her, and we just graduated college. She's not that much younger than us.
>>
>>22198954
Our waifu now is HZP and anyone that says otherwise is a liar and a charlatan.
>>
>>22199360
But what happens when we finish our work on HZP and start selling her to other men and then begin work on a new hotter mech? I mean we're going to have to move on eventually, we'll pour our heart and soul into her and then let her go.



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