Future Wars 29.pdf

(12580 KB) Pobierz

S~UI'

'·"··

·······=•

1'!l:I:S

. . .

. .

.,.

. . . . .

:l··r

:·~"

;··

._.:

:::~

IVIIt

...

~,-

HMDI;Jt,

This Issue:

Spotlight on

Solaris VII!

*Fiction!

*Reviews!

*New

BattleMechs!

Publisher

Hn6BeYIII$

Editor-ln.Chiel

HmS..I$

Editor

PIIIU,

o.t.a

sslstant to

the Editors

P•l

HIINIIIg

Chrblf••

C.rln

Editorial

Herb Barents

Incoming Transmissions

The Readers

Sensor Sweep

Herb Barents

Figures in Reuiew

Philip

Deluca

The Pipe line

Philip

D I!LUCII

submission

uidelin e s

1)•

peset/Layout

PhlllpJ.~

Proofreader

Pt~lrlclll

Vntuccl

Co,·er

J•mu

CrHson

Interior

ROlf

&}tilt

OwmS.mrts

S~&mdt

hlllf$

Crwson

John

KOfJtl"

P11trlcl• Rllndtl/1

PIIURI,.ud

,_"ftt.,.

T11ncn

Conuention News

The Readers

Re u iew: Falcon Goard

Christine Carter

Trends and Directions

Donald Loil

I 2

Role -Pia yin g Opp o rtunit ie s in Bat tie Tech

liregory

De tw ile r

18 R Tille of the Blatk Panther Legionnaires

Ronald L. Bush

20 Reuiew: ClanTroops

Herb Barents

Armor Allocation Auording to Hit Probabilities

Geoff Buhl

Solur·is IJ

II:

In Depth Part

Pat Hwang

Solaris IJ

II:

In Depth Part

Herb Barents

Tattics in the Arenas

Philip

Deluca

Reuiew: Mecha!

Herb Barents

New BattleMeths

:16 BLR-IF ToastMuster

James Greeson

IJarious BattleMechs

IJ a rio us Con

rib u tors

Ramblings of an Unbalanted Mind

Philip

Deluca

fcmJIIIE

WilliS

Issued

bi-monthly,

and focuses

on FASA's

Battle

Tech

system.

FaraRt

WilliS can be ordered by

mail,

found in better game

and hobby stores across the nation.

Furou

EDITORIAL

by Herb

Barents

(o~

nttow

OCH

ARMOR

with that too much, you will prob-

ably have some troubles.

When FASA writes a new rule

has balances and checks so that

it does not unbalance the game.

This way, not everyone uses it, and

it keeps the game exciting. Do

these checks and balances come

easy? No, they do not It takes a lot

of trial and error and playtesting to

see

it works.

I'll admit- some of the stuff

that I have in Future Wars does not

meet all this. The sabot rounds, for

example, have too much good and

not enough bad, but it is a very

possible weapon. The extra armor,

if the tons are there, why not? Why

not have 1/2 tons of ammo? I agree

with paying the full critical space for

it. I see nothing wrong with that,

and I do not mind playing with

someone that does that sort of thing

without telling me. If you are playing

a good game, those things will not

make the difference between

winning and losing.

I don't like the rules lawyers

that bring out this rule or that rule

and try to win by the way the rule is

written. If you are doing that then

you need to take a good long look

at how you are playing the game.

After all, sound tactics and strategy

should win over rules all the time.

Sure, there is a certain amount of

luck involved and you must take

that into account. Play with the

odds on your side not against you.

Does too much armor matter

or are tons tons? Ask yourself that

question and see if it really matters

in your game. Isn't a couple of

armor dots too little to get upset

over? I don't think it is worth the

trouble.

(This is not an official FASA

product nor is anything in here

approved by FASA for the play of

the games. Future Wars is a forum

for ideas in science-fiction games

and the BattleTech Universe.)

ErtOOGtt?"

rr=========================~

tons are tons;

makes no

difference to

I have

me if the

had many

tonnage is

complaints

weapons,

recently about

ammo, armor,

'Mech designs

jump jets, and

that have

so forth. One

appeared in

reason why I

Future Wars.

published the

Mostly they go

Killer Rabbit a

like this: "Did

couple of

you know that

issues back is

this one had too much armor or had

to show you how silly this can be.

too much jump factor?" Yes, I know

An AC/20 in a torso, but you cannot

that part of

it.

When the complaints

are about the tonnage being over or put more armor on? That is stupid.

If you can have an AC/20 or a lot of

under, that I do not do deliberately,

other weight in a place then you

and hate as much as you do. I

should be able to have armor there

check them all out, but without a

computer, I do it manually and I feel as well. Tons are tons are tons. I

say big deal

it has two, three, four

that I do catch a great many of

tons more armor so long as the

them. Being rushed for time,

weight comes out right. Remember

though, some get through. When I

you are adding that much armor

do out the stat sheet I add up the

you are also giving up something

tonnage, but still... For those I'm

else.

very sorry. Future Wars is just a

Battle Tech is a very finely

labor of love, and I do have other

tuned game. Making a lot of alter-

things that put bread on the table,

ations to the game is not a very

so it is done only on a time permits

good thing. The rules are all there

basis.

for a reason. I'm quite sure that

The heart of what I want to

talk about is the tonnage and armor they had a reason for the two points

of armor rule, but

is much tougher

"problems". I know that in the rules

to reason out that one. I feel that a

it says that you cannot have more

good guideline for BattleTech is that

than two points per internal struc-

an alteration to the rules changes

ture. My question is why? Tons are

the play of the game, or if you do

not give up anything to get some-

thing then you are not in the spirit of

this game. When you add more

armor, you are taking away from

something else. The checks and

balances in BattleTech are like that

The ranges, though we do not like

them, are there for certain reasons,

mainly because FASA needed a

limited playing space, thus the

ranges were made short so that

there would still be a difference in

the game, but not out strip the two

boards. It works in the game

system. If you start playing around

Dear Herb:

I've got some good stuff for you

this time. As my envelope indicates. I

have a story for your contest listed on

Page 24 of Issue #26: "Amazons and

Warriors", which takes place during the

joint Andurien-Canopian invasion of

Uao space just after the Fourth

Succession War. These little between

the cracks wars should get more

attention, you know; a fight doesn't

have to be between two Successor

States to be interesting. I also have a

regular article: Role-Playing Opportuni-

ties in BattleTech. It's a collection of

ideas for borrowing character types

from other role-playing games for use in

BattleTech, as well as suggesting a few

new ones.

My third article is the reason the

envelope had the "Dated Material"

notice on it. The Clan-Kin Wars is

meant for consideration for your second

special Kin issue, now estimated to be

issue #34. I think it's good, as it not only

gives the Kin a reason to enter the

Inner Sphere and reveal themselves

openly, but it also gives the Clans not

involved in the invasion of the Inner

Sphere something to do. As you will no

doubt realize upon reading the article, I

am a Clan fan.

You have to admit, the Kin seem

a bit timid-to say the least-compared to

the Clans, or even to the warriors of the

Inner Sphere. After reading your first

Kin special issue, I drew up every tactic

I could think of which takes advantage

of Kin weaknesses. I don't know just

how much you've written about the Kin

already; feel free to modify dates and

other minor details to tie your stuff in

with mine. Please use the enclosed

postcard to let me know the stuff arrived

safely. Since my stuff can generally

only be published in your magazine, I

don't mind your non-return of submis-

sions; besides, it cuts my postage costs

in half.

Sincerely yours,

Gregory W. Detwiler

R.D.2 Box 70

Williamsburg, PA 16693

ond

your tips on role-ploying

are included in this issue. Nice

job!

Dear Herb,

Here's a stack of B'Tech stuff with

more diversity than the ComStar stock

exchange. If you can find a use for

anything, go for

it.

not, the round "out

bin" under the desk is always handy.

I'm presently working up a couple of

'Mach replicas in roughly 1135th scale

(roughly a foot tall) for a diorama, all

completely scratch-built. When (if,

actually) I get the whole thing finished, it

should be good enough for a magazine

cover or full-page picture. Also, what file

formats is your Mac prepared to

handle? Would you prefer MacWrite or

MS Word files or hardcopy?

In your upcoming issue #30 on

"NewTech", consider the strategic

implications of the "Hyper-Locust" XL

modification in the enclosed "X-Ranger"

news brief; with a Run MP of 20 it could

cover more than a full mapsheet in a

single turn! Watch out for your Torso

Rears, everybody!

On a different track, a minor slip-

up in the Compendium on page 116

has the stats for the Artemis IV FCS

and the Beagle Active Probe shifted

over one ("look, it says the Artemis IV

doesn't weigh anything!" "Does this

mean my BAP just ran out of ammo?"

"How big is 1.5 Critical Locations?").

Shift all the numbers for these two items

to the left by one column and it all starts

to make sense.

While I'm going off on tangents,

the article "A Matter of Balance" by

Lail in Issue #26 made a few good

points, and his question about the

weight of gyros is a legitimate concern.

Typically, even highly accurate naviga-

tional gyros only mass a couple

hundred kilos, including heavy shock

mounting, since beyond a certain size

they don't do any better. A moderate

sized circular object spinning at a high

RPM rate is mounted on pivots in all 3

dimensions. A set of sensors are used

to determine how far the housing has

moved in relation to the rotating mass.

Whether the mass is 1 kg or 1000 kg,

Thank: you, Gregory. Your

articles are uery interesting,

its rotational speed, the accuracy of the

sensors, and the free motion of the

pivots have far more effect.

In the case of a 'Mach, the

accuracy isn't even that important. Who

would notice if a 'Mach were tilted .001

degree? Besides, the ultimate judge of

.balance would not be a chunk of

hardware, but the pilot himself. While

walking, we do far more than simply

balance; each time you take a step you

subconciously decide where your new

center of balance will be, even before

you reach the end of that step, and

where to place your foot in order to be

balanced when you get there, automati-

cally including such other factors as

whether or not you are leaning your

body, walking up- or down-hill, favoring

one leg, or carrying something heavy in

one hand. With the pilot linked by his

neurohelmet to the 'Mech, he would

instinctively balance the same way.

The only uses I can see for a gyro

in a 'Mech would be for navigation and

long-range projectile weapons tracking.

A unit in the 100 to 500kg range,

independent of engine size, would be

more than adequate, not the 1000 kg+

monsters required

the design rules.

A crippled gyro would result in poorer

LAM and AC shooting on the fly and

possibly in getting lost, not in total

immobility.

My own pet peeve about the

B'Tech rules involves weapon ranges.

A 2011"1 Century rifle can fire a standard

projectile a distance of over 2 km. Anti-

tank rockets launched from light

armored vehicles have an effective

range of roughly 3 km. Special155 mm

howitzer shells from tank-sized mobile

artillery cover around 24 km (17 miles!),

and ships' guns were lobbing projectiles

the weight of a subcompact car

distances of nearly 30 miles back in

WWII. Lasers have been fired in tests

against aircraft through several miles of

atmosphere, and are capable of

reduced damage levels out to the

horizon. News reports indicate that

Saddam's Stooges were building a

Canadian-designed gun with a 600 mile

range I Research is well under way on

anti-satellite lasers, and experimental

{Gauss Rifles) have driven

rice-sized pellets through heavy armor

plate, and can almost put a projectile in

orbit.

Along comes the 31st Century,

and these people can fly to the stars,

build 100 ton fusion-powered walking

machines that run 100 kph, and do all

sorts of other neat high-techy kinds of

stuff, but they can't fire a simple

machine gun over 100 meters! Their

"long-range" missiles go a sorry half·

mile, and most aren't even guided!

What are they using for a propellent,

molasses? An amateur chemist could

work up better out of household

cleaners. Either the 30 m hex scale is

off by a factor of at least 5 or the

weaponry has degenerated to the level

of the dark ages. {"Excuse me, but my

Autocannon needs a new flint." "Don't

bother me, can't you see I'm busy

winding up the rubberbands in my

SRMs!" At least artillery ranges {6 • 10

km) seem reasonable for light mobile

fieldpieces, if not huge gun emplace-

ments.

OK, so some of this stuff is as far

out as the periphery. Maybe the laws of

physics got dented a little by one of

those jumpships or the meter got

bigger, or gyroscopes don't balance as

well as they used to. Anyway, if I keep

on writing this kind of stuff, one of three

things will happen. Either 1) you'll use

some of it and I'll at least get a few

freebie issues, or 2) you won't, in which

case I'll keep on sending piles more

until you offer me a full subscription to

stop, or 3) I'll run out of paper.

Kovacs

1522 N. lOth St.

Reading, PA 19604

"rail-guns~

the store. Keep up the excellent work.

I'd also like to comment on the

content of your magazine. I only have

issues {22, 23, and 24) but I think they

all have excellent articles and features.

I particularly liked the articles on heavy

'Mechs in issues 23 and 24. Your

variants have ranged from the ex-

tremely useful to the unusual and I plan

to incorporate many of the rules into my

own game. My favorite articles are:

Real 'Mechs, the Mech!Vehicles/

Aerospace Designs, the Pipeline and

Figures in Review. My absolute favorite

is Real 'Mechs because it lets each

'Mech have its own little quirk that

makes

different. Lastly, I've enclosed

some 'Mech designs you might like,

such as the Thunderbolt II, a 90-ton

version of the Thunderbolt.

Sincerely,

Lee Rosenberg

2 Highfield Road

Harrison, NY 10528

Dear Herb Barents:

I am very impressed with your

magazine "Future Wars" and I would

like to subscribe. The most recent issue

I was able to find was issue #24 where

your price is quoted as being $19.00

U.S. Enclosed is a money order for this

amount in U.S. funds. I have also

picked up issue #23 and really enjoyed

the articles on heavy 'Mechs {my

favorite type to play). I am also inter-

ested in knowing if you would like

reviews for Battle Tech computer games

(IBM versions) for your magazine. Keep

up the excellent work!

Yours Sincerely,

Terry Mock

Box 65

Ranfurly, Alberta

CANADA

TOB 3TO

John, keep sending your

articles. Remember that there

is always a lag between sub-

mission and publication. We

uery often hold off publishing

an article until the "theme" is

right. Rlso, why not write a few

articles "fiHing" what is

"wrong" with B'Tech?

Dear Mr. Barents,

I only found out about your

magazine recently and ordered a

subscription. I am pleased to say it

came out only shortly after I saw it in

Sure thing, Terry! Send

your reuiews for the newest

BattleTech IBM games. We can

always use your input in any

aspect, though, so don't limit

yourself.

To the "omnipotent?" Herb,

I have been role-playing all of

life, and have played several different

games. Of these, I have to rate Battle-

Tech very highly. I have been playing

BattleTech for about a year, and I love

it.

Although, as with any game, it is not

perfect.

I play regularly with some friends

of mine from Ionia. One of them, Eric

Johnson, has written and met you

before. I represent the 113" America!

Division. It's great. I love fighting the

Kin, who are represented by Eric's

brother. I have come up with a ranking

system that seems to work fairly well:

113 Rank

Rough Equivalent

Warrior

Green/Grunt

Servitor

Regular/Sergeant

Commodore

Veteran/Lance Cmndr

Commander

Veteran/Cmpy Cmndr

Leader

Elite!High-Rnkng otcr

Co-ordinator

Crack/General

I have come up with a few other

ideas that I think would help a lot of

players if they were to see print. The

first, is that, when firing a weapon a

pilot's Gunnery skill is used to modify

the roll, depending on whether

is high

or low. I think that when a pilot attempts

a physical attack {punch, kick, charging,

death from above, and others) his

piloting skill should be used to modify

the roll needed to determine success.

You may not agree with me, but I figure

it's worth a try.

I have also come up with a new

weapon that I call the saw-SRM.

shoots enlarged circular saw blades

instead of missiles. It was developed in

the Outer Sphere, but the Inner Sphere

also has a version. Here are the stats:

All are 2 crits and do 3 points of

damage per blade. Ranges are: Short

1-3 Medium 4-6 Long 7-9

Clan ("Outer Sphere")

Saw-SRM-2 2 Heat .5 ton; Saw-

SRM-4 3 Heat 1.0 ton; Saw-SRM-6 4

Heat 1.5 Tons

Inner Sphere

Saw-SRM-2 2 Heat

1.0

ton; Saw-

SRM-4 3 Heat 2.0 tons; Saw-SRM-6 4

Heat 3.0 tons.

It may even be possible to use

some Streak technology tor these.

One more thing. There is no

ammo per ton listed for the Kin M-40,

M-15, and Penetrator Missiles.

you

could send me this and anything to help

me in properly playing out the 113 I

would be very grateful. Thanks.

Until Kerensky rises from

cont'd on page

Plik z chomika:

brathac

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

S T 245 The Fall of France 1940.pdf (17081 KB)
S T 255 First Air Battle Over Britain.pdf (8970 KB)
Future Wars 34.pdf (14852 KB)
Future Wars 36.pdf (54471 KB)
Future Wars 37.pdf (60041 KB)

Future Wars 29.pdf

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: