Working on Battletech conversion

brian
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Posts: 91

Working on Battletech conversion Dec 8, 2014 17:35:43 GMT Jaymz likes this

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Post by brian on Dec 8, 2014 17:35:43 GMT

I've got a ton of Battletech minis, and since I initially supported the Robotech kickstarter in order to get Battletech unseen minis, I figured a little cross-conversion wouldn't hurt. The purpose is to give the handful of local guys that I'll be playing with some more options for when we aren't really doing a serious game and are just screwing around. Unlike a lot of conversions, my plan is not to directly translate everything. It's more of a thematic conversion that's based on what the mech looks like, while attempting to give it the same role that it had before.

For instance, the Battletech Wolverine and Battlemaster (and I'm sure several others) have an SRM-6 rack that happens to look just like the SRM-6 rack on a Battletech Warhammer / Robotech Tomahawk. So in the conversion, anything that has an SRM-6 rack with that particular visual look will get the stats for the Tomahawk weapon (I think it's Rng 24, MD 6, Volley X, Ammo 6, Anti-Missile, Missile). I'm not converting anything that has a clear analog. An Archer simply becomes a Spartan.

I'm currently at work, but I plan on posting the work-in-progress stats when I get home. I sat around for an hour or two looking at the old Tech Readout 3025, and making notes based on weapon loadout and appearance.

As far as movement, defense, etc, I looked at the extremes of the Robotech stats. The slowest anything in Robotech moves is 3". The fastest purely ground-based movement is 8" (convoy vehicles), but for almost everything else the fastest is 7". So everything is scaled that way. An Atlas moves 3", a Locust moves either 7 or 8, I forget which. Most things move 4 or 5. Mechs that can jump get Leap. Most mechs have Def 5, unless they're very fast or are supposed to be very heavily armored (like the Monster). I think I gave the Atlas Def 7 in addition to a lot of MDC. In Robotech, MDC ranges from 5 for the Battle Pods, up to the mid 20s for the very tough stuff, so this conversion puts Battletech mechs in the same range. Most things will be in the mid-teens for MDC, with Assault mechs getting into the mid 20s and light mechs getting single digits.

Anyway, I'll post the full list later. I'm interested to see what people have to say.

brian
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Posts: 91

Working on Battletech conversion Dec 8, 2014 23:31:09 GMT

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Post by brian on Dec 8, 2014 23:31:09 GMT

Atlas AS7-D

Spd 3	MDC 26	Def 6
AC-20	Rng 12	MD 12	Rapid Fire
LRM 20	Rng 36	MD 2	Volley 8	Ammo 12	Indirect	Missile
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6	Rear Firing	Split Fire
SRM Launcher	Rng 18	MD 6	Volley X	Ammo 6	Anti-Missile	Missile

Last Edit: Dec 8, 2014 23:41:29 GMT by brian

brian New Member Posts: 91	Working on Battletech conversion Dec 8, 2014 23:42:43 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by brian on Dec 8, 2014 23:42:43 GMT I'm playing with the formatting for the website. I'm not that computer literate. Maybe I can make one giant chart or something.

Jaymz Administrator Posts: 419	Working on Battletech conversion Dec 8, 2014 23:52:51 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Jaymz on Dec 8, 2014 23:52:51 GMT Looks fine thumbs up
	Good, bad.....I'm the one with the power.

brian
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Posts: 91

Working on Battletech conversion Dec 9, 2014 0:01:44 GMT

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Post by brian on Dec 9, 2014 0:01:44 GMT

Everything is 3025 era, because screw the new stuff. Piloting and gunnery skills would probably be 2/2 to match with normal destroids. Better pilots would obviously have higher values.

Light mechs (with Robotech equivalent mecha like Wasp, Stinger, Valkyrie removed)

LCT-1V	Locust
Spd 7	5 MDC	Def 6
Dual Machine Guns	Rng 9	MD 4
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4

COM-2D	Commando
Spd 5	6 MDC	Def 6
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 6

JVN-10N	Javelin
Spd 5	6 MDC	Def 6	Leap
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 8

SDR-5V	Spider
Spd 7	5 MDC	Def 6	Leap
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6

UM-R60	Urbanmech
Spd 3	8 MDC	Def 5	Leap
AC-10	Rng 24	MD 8	Rapid Fire	Rear Fire
Small Laser	Rng 9	MD 2	Anti-Missile	Rear Fire

FS9-H	Firestarter
Spd 5	7 MDC	Def 5	Leap
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6
Flamers	Rng 9	MD 8
Dual Machine Guns	Rng 9	MD 4

JR7-D	Jenner
Spd 6	6 MDC	Def 6	Leap
Quad Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 8	Split Fire
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Volley 4	Ammo 6	Missile

PNT-9R	Panther
Spd 4	9 MDC	Def 5	Leap
PPC	Rng 36	MD 8
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Volley 4	Ammo 6	Missile

brian
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Posts: 91

Working on Battletech conversion Dec 9, 2014 0:41:23 GMT

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Post by brian on Dec 9, 2014 0:41:23 GMT

Medium mechs

ASN-21	Assassin
Spd 6	6 MDC	Def 6	Leap
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 8	Indirect
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley 2	Ammo 8

CDA-2A	Cicada
Spd 7	7 MDC	Def 6
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6
Small Laser	Rng 9	MD 2	Anti-Missile

CLNT-2-3T	Clint
Spd 5	7 MDC	Def 5	Leap
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6	Accurate
AC-5	Rng 24	MD 6	Accurate	Rapid-Fire

HER-2S	Hermes II
Spd 5	10 MDC	Def 5
AC-5	Rng 24	MD 6	Rapid-Fire
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4
Flamer	Rng 9	MD 4

VL-2T	Vulcan
Spd 5	7 MDC	Def 6	Leap
AC-2	Rng 36	MD 4	Rapid-Fire
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4
Flamer	Rng 9	MD 4
Machine Gun	Rng 9	MD 2

WHT-1	Whitworth
Spd 4	10 MDC	Def 5	Leap
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 8	Ammo 12	Indirect
Triple Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 8

BJ-1	Blackjack
Spd 4	11 MDC	Def 5	Leap
Dual AC-2s	Rng 36	MD 6	Rapid-Fire	Rear Fire
Quad Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 8	Split Fire

HCT-3F	Hatchetman
Spd 4	10 MDC	Def 5	Leap
AC-10	Rng 24	MD 8	Rapid-Fire
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6
Club	per rulebook

VND-1R	Vindicator
Spd 4	12 MDC	Def 5	Leap
PPC	Rng 36	MD 8
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 8	Indirect
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4
Small Laser	Rng 9	MD 2	Anti-Missile

CN9-A	Centurion
Spd 4	12 MDC	Def 5	Leap
AC-10	Rng 24	MD 8	Rapid-Fire
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4	Rear Fire
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 6	Ammo 8	Indirect

ENF-4R	Enforcer
Spd 4	12 MDC	Def 5	Leap
AC-10	Rng 24	MD 8	Rapid-Fire
Large Laser	Rng 24	MD 6
Small Laser	Rng 9	MD 2	Anti-Missile

HBK-4G	Hunchback
Spd 4	14 MDC	Def 5
AC-20	Rng 12	MD 12	Rapid-Fire
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6
Small Laser	Rng 9	MD 2	Anti-Missile

TBT-5N	Trebuchet
Spd 4	10 MDC	Def 5
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 10	Ammo 12	Indirect
Tri-Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 8

DV-6M	Dervish
Spd 4	10 MDC	Def 5	Leap
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 8	Ammo 12	Indirect
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 8
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6

GRF-1N	Griffin
Spd 4	14 MDC	Def 5	Leap
PPC	Rng 36	MD 8
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 6	Ammo 12	Indirect

SHD-2H	Shadow Hawk
Spd 4	14 MDC	Def 5	Leap
AC-5	Rng 24	MD 6	Rapid-Fire
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 8	Indirect
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley 2	Ammo 8
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4

SCP-1N	Scorpion
Spd 5	10 MDC	Def 5
PPC	Rng 36	MD 8
AMS SRM rack	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley X	Ammo 6	Anti-Missile

WVR-6R	Wolverine
Spd 4	14 MDC	Def 5	Leap
AC-5	Rng 24	MD 6	Rapid-Fire
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4
AMS SRM rack	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley X	Ammo 6	Anti-Missile

A work in progress, definitely. And I'm sure there are some places where two mechs that have the exact same movement or armor ended up with different stats here. It might be intentional or it might not. The Clint has "accurate", because in the background it's supposed to be accurate. My version of the AC-5 and AC-10 end up with the same exact range. The AC-5 is what I decided the Valkyrie's main gun to be. I wasn't sure what to do with the AC-10 except give it a bit more damage. The number of missiles per volley and ammo was a complete shoulder shrug guess.

mike1975
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Posts: 142

Working on Battletech conversion Dec 9, 2014 2:37:09 GMT

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Post by mike1975 on Dec 9, 2014 2:37:09 GMT

Dec 8, 2014 23:31:09 GMT brian said:

Atlas AS7-D

Spd 3	MDC 26	Def 6
AC-20	Rng 12	MD 12	Rapid Fire
LRM 20	Rng 36	MD 2	Volley 8	Ammo 12	Indirect	Missile
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6	Rear Firing	Split Fire
SRM Launcher	Rng 18	MD 6	Volley X	Ammo 6	Anti-Missile	Missile

I would not do Rapid Fire for the AC-20, leave that for the Ultra versions.
I think 1.5x range works well. I would add the machine guns on the arms.

Also I think some formula for damage needs to be made. Maybe 1 point per 10 tons for internals, you can halve or double that for Light and Heavy Internal Structures and then do something like 1 more MDC per 20 points of armor which in the case of the 304 from the 19 tons of armor you would add 15 more points for a total of 25 MDC. Sticking to formulas allows us to go into Clan and Starleague and Jihadist technology easily.

brian
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Posts: 91

Working on Battletech conversion Dec 9, 2014 5:53:14 GMT

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Post by brian on Dec 9, 2014 5:53:14 GMT

I don't think there should be an exact conversion formula, because Robotech Tactics doesn't use one. Def has to be considered along with MDC. A lot of the time it represents being hard to hit, but other times it's just thick armor (the Monster). So it's not really an exact science.

It's not going to be an exact conversion anyway, because Robotech mecha can blow each other apart with one or two missiles, while Battletech mechs can shoot each other for hours and then limp away. Both games have a different design philosophy behind them.

brian
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Posts: 91

Working on Battletech conversion Dec 10, 2014 1:59:55 GMT

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Post by brian on Dec 10, 2014 1:59:55 GMT

Heavy mechs

DRG-1N	Dragon
Spd 4	14 MDC	Def 5
AC-5	Rng 24	MD 6	Rapid-Fire
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 6	Ammo 12	Indirect
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4	Rear Fire

QKD-4G	Quickdraw
Spd 4	11 MDC	Def 5	Leap
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6	Rear Firing
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 8
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 6	Ammo 12	Indirect

CLPT-C1	Catapult
Spd 4	14 MDC	Def 5	Leap
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 10	Ammo 12	Indirect
Quad Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 8	Split Fire

JM6-S	JagerMech
Spd 4	9 MDC	Def 5
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6
Autocannon cluster	Rng 36	MD 8	Rapid-Fire	Rear Fire	Anti-Missile

TDR-5S	Thunderbolt
Spd 4	19 MDC	Def 5
Large Laser	Rng 24	MD 6
Tri Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 8
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley 2	Ammo 8
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 6	Ammo 12	Indirect
Machine guns	Rng 9	MD 4

GHR-5H	Grasshopper
Spd 4	19 MDC	Def 5	Leap
Large Laser	Rng 24	MD 6
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 8
Quad Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 8	Split Fire

ON1-K	Orion
Spd 4	22 MDC	Def 5
AC-10	Rng 24	MD 8	Rapid-Fire
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 8
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 6	Ammo 12	Indirect
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6

brian
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Posts: 91

Working on Battletech conversion Dec 10, 2014 3:28:51 GMT

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Post by brian on Dec 10, 2014 3:28:51 GMT

And finally, the big boys

AWS-8Q	Awesome
Spd 3	24 MDC	Def 6
Triple PPCs	Rng 36	MD 12	Overwhelming	Split-Fire
Small Laser	Rng 9	MD 2	Anti-Missile

CGR-1A1	Charger
Spd 6	14 MDC	Def 5
Small Laser battery	Rng 9	MD 5	Anti-Missile
Brawler	(see Spartan)

GOL-1H	Goliath
Spd 4	22 MDC	Def 5
PPC	Rng 36	MD 8
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 8	Ammo 12	Indirect
Machine guns	Rng 9	MD 4

VTR-9B	Victor
Spd 4	16 MDC	Def 5
AC-20	Rng 12	MD 12	Rapid-Fire
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 8

ZEU-6S	Zeus
Spd 4	16 MDC	Def 5
AC-5	Rng 24	MD 6	Rapid-Fire
Large Laser	Rng 24	MD 6
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 6	Ammo 12	Indirect
Medium Laser	Rng 18	MD 4	Rear Firing

BLR-1G	Battlemaster
Spd 4	22 MDC	Def 6
PPC	Rng 36	MD 8
Quad Med Lasers	Rng 18	MD 8	Split Fire	Rear Fire
Machine guns	Rng 9	MD 4
AMS SRM rack	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley X	Ammo 6	Anti-Missile

STK-3F	Stalker
Spd 3	21 MDC	Def 5
Quad Med Lasers	Rng 18	MD 8	Split Fire
AMS SRM Launchers	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley X	Ammo 8	Anti-Missile
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 8	Ammo 12	Indirect
Dual Large Lasers	Rng 24	MD 8	Split Fire

CP 10-Z	Cyclops
Spd 4	14 MDC	Def 5	Leadership 4
AC-20	Rng 12	MD 12	Rapid-Fire
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6
SRM racks	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley 4	Ammo 8
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 6	Ammo 12	Indirect

BNC-3E	Banshee
Spd 4	24 MDC	Def 6
PPC	Rng 36	MD 8
AC-5	Rng 24	MD 6	Rapid-Fire
Small Laser	Rng 9	MD 2	Anti-Missile

AS7-D	Atlas
Spd 3	26 MDC	Def 6
AC-20	Rng 12	MD 12	Rapid-Fire
LRM racks	Rng 36	MD 2	Missile	Volley 8	Ammo 12	Indirect
Dual Medium Lasers	Rng 18	MD 6	Rear Firing
AMS SRM rack	Rng 18	MD 6	Missile	Volley X	Ammo 6	Anti-Missile

Whew. That's a lot of typing. I haven't playtested any of these. As I said, I tried to keep them true to the spirit of the individual mechs without conforming to a rigid set of conversions. That's why the Charger gets Spd 6 -- it needs it. The numbers are pure guesswork. I wrote them out in a text file and then copied them onto this board. As I did, I was tempted to make changes as I went. I decided not to because I wasn't sure I could do them with any consistency.

Mostly I would decide what I wanted a particular weapon to do, and then would just duplicate it over and over again. When there were groups of weapons I resisted the temptation to just multiply the damage. There are a lot of mechs that carry 4 medium lasers, or can shoot off 40+ missiles, and while that's not too bad in Battletech, it could be murderous in Robotech where the damage is much more significant. As a result, I gave mechs diminishing returns on extra weapons. Otherwise you're going to get something like a Clan Black Hawk that shoots 12 ER Med Lasers and does 60 MD or so.

There are some things that are kind of odd with the conversion. Halfway through I realized that my version of the AC-5 is actually a lot better than a Large Laser, which is totally not the case in Battletech. But I'd already written a lot of it down so I didn't want to change it. I tried to keep Battlemechs from being out of scale with their Robotech counterparts. A Locust should still be fast, a Hunchback should be dangerous up close, a Stalker should have a ton of firepower, and an Awesome should be, well, awesome. Mechs should be competitive but not overwhelming.

I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this. I know the community isn't very big right now, but I suspect people here have a lot of Battletech experience.

Jaymz
Administrator

Posts: 419

Working on Battletech conversion Dec 10, 2014 3:35:37 GMT

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Post by Jaymz on Dec 10, 2014 3:35:37 GMT

I'm with mike on not making standard ACs rapid fire and leaving that for Ultras and Rotaries.

Neat otherwise.

Will be interesting to see how they stack up against Mike's conversion which uses a more formulaic way of doing it. *thumbs up*

Good, bad.....I'm the one with the power.

brian
New Member

Posts: 91

Working on Battletech conversion Dec 10, 2014 5:08:33 GMT

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Post by brian on Dec 10, 2014 5:08:33 GMT

The reasoning behind that is pretty simple. Since all the Robotech Destroids and Valkyries were classic 3025 mechs, I tried to keep the conversion in that era. Even though the weapon loadouts are different (a Valkyrie definitely isn't a Wasp or Stinger, and an Archer and a Spartan are very different), I tried to match them up with some rough equivalency.

Background-wise, ACs fire in a burst. The Solaris VII rules allow ACs to fire more than once, and there are optional rules for allowing standard ACs to fire in "ultra" mode. Since missiles are definitely getting a boost in damage here, small lasers are suddenly gaining anti-missile ability, and we're generally quietly fudging everything anyway, I decided to make the ACs Rapid Fire. They're so heavy in Battletech anyway that I figured they needed a bit of a boost.

zino117
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Posts: 13

Working on Battletech conversion Jan 24, 2015 17:38:37 GMT

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Post by zino117 on Jan 24, 2015 17:38:37 GMT

hi can you do over 100 tons mechs in battletech AKA Superheavy BattleMechs OR aka Colossal BattleMech

www.sarna.net/wiki/BattleMech#Superheavy.2FColossal

Matar (BattleMech)

Poseidon (BattleMech)

Ares (BattleMech)

Omega (BattleMech)

Technical Readout: 3145

YOU ARE VERY GOOD AT THIS MAN YOU ROCK!!!!

Post by brian on Dec 8, 2014 17:35:43 GMT

Post by brian on Dec 8, 2014 23:31:09 GMT

Post by brian on Dec 8, 2014 23:42:43 GMT

Post by Jaymz on Dec 8, 2014 23:52:51 GMT

Post by brian on Dec 9, 2014 0:01:44 GMT

Post by brian on Dec 9, 2014 0:41:23 GMT

Post by mike1975 on Dec 9, 2014 2:37:09 GMT

Post by brian on Dec 9, 2014 5:53:14 GMT

Post by brian on Dec 10, 2014 1:59:55 GMT

Post by brian on Dec 10, 2014 3:28:51 GMT

Post by Jaymz on Dec 10, 2014 3:35:37 GMT

Post by brian on Dec 10, 2014 5:08:33 GMT

Post by zino117 on Jan 24, 2015 17:38:37 GMT