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Mechlord3130
Clan Nova Cat
Point Commander
Joined: 24-Jul-2002 00:00
Posts: 17
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 Posted: 28-Jul-2002 23:40 Post subject: MWDA Battle Report, as promised |
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Mechwarrior: Dark Ages, Battle Report
Well, finally Sunday got here, and the battle I had been waiting
for all week was finally upon me. I had taken the time to write a
detailed scenario, and built some nice terrain to go with it. Very
simply, it was a seek and destroy mission. There was an illegal
communications bunker protected by the enemy… a roll of the die
determined that I would be the one to blow it up.
Now, before I get into too much detail on the battle itself, let me
say that the forces provided did not exactly match up to the
scenario or the terrain. However, since this was just a test game, I
figured WTF…right? Riiiight.
Included in the demo pack was 1 Forestry Mech, 1 Legionnaire mech, 2
Condor tanks, 1 Schmitt tank, 1 demon tank, 2 Hover bikes, 3 clan
battle armor, 2 purifier battle armor, 2 cavalier battle armor, and
1 Hauberk battle armor.
The overall look of the sculps was quite good, and if you thought
the Legionaire was a goofy mech when you saw it online, let me tell
you…in person its rather impressive. The paint was well done, a
military olive drab green, and silver for the claws and weapon. And
boy does this thing stand tall. It towered over the Forestry mech,
And that huge gun that is its face was scary as hell. I ended up
getting that mech for my force, and my opponent got the Forestry.
My force looked like this:
1 legionnaire mech
1 condor tank
2 purifier battle armor
2 cavalier battle armor
1 Hauberk battle armor
1 hover bike
My opponent's (Jim) forces looked like this:
1 forestry mech
1 Schmitt tank
1 condor tank
1 demon medium tank
3 clan battle armor
1 hover bike
Now if you notice, my force is a little infantry heavy, but the
scenario required the use of infantry to gain intel from the
communications bunker (before I blew it up) for extra victory
points.
The terrain was swampy, with elevated, and hindering (light forest)
terrain types. Both the condor, and hover bike used the hover mode
of movement. This would prove useful in the watery terrain. Three of
the five infantry units used jump jets…once again useful for
navigating the difficult terrain. I felt I had a reasonable chance
at success.
We lined up our forces on each side of the board. My opponent was
allowed to put half his forces within proximity of the Com bunker,
and he protected it with the clan armor, and condor tank.
The first couple of turns went pretty fast, as we moved our units
into position. I kidded him a little, as the Clan armor stayed put
around the bunker, and I felt they "were about to revolt" for being
given "guard duty," instead of being put in a more offensive
posture. However, the tactic was a sound one, and I knew my infantry
couldn't stand up to them.
Elevated terrain blocked the center path of the battle field, and I
moved my units behind it. Once in position, the Legionnaire made a
run move from behind the elevated terrain, to the edge of the
hindering. From this position he could fire out without penalty, but
would get a +1 defense bonus for being in it. It also put him in
range to fire on the condor tank. However, the heat dial for the
forestry mech is EXTEMELY unfriendly, and the run move forced him to
take a break, or risk an ammo explosion.
My opponent moved his Schmitt tank to elevated terrain. A good move,
as the Schmitt had the greatest range (14") of any of the other
units, including the mechs. His Forestry was also placed well,
covering the field down the center. If any one moved into that
center area, the forestry mech and the tank would unload…it was a
turkey shoot, and forced me to concentrate on his flanks.
While my legionnaire was cooling, Jim opened up with a salvo from
his condor, hitting him for three clicks of damage. FIRST BLOOD!
Ack, my mech had been hit, but the effect was nominal, though my
damage was reduced from and awesome 5 clicks, to a pretty good 4.
The following turn, I returned the favor, and hit the condor. Four
clicks of damage crippled the thing, significantly reducing its
effectiveness. Jim could have returned fire, but that would have
pushed the condor for another click, so he elected to wait till his
next turn. However, the condor had no next turn, as I elected to
take the heat and fire again. Now in Mech Warrior, you roll three
die, 1 black, two white. If you roll a 12 on the white die you score
a critical hit and do an extra click. Wouldn't you know it…CRITICAL
BABY! Five frick'in clicks on his condor…it was gone! The first
casualty scored to me! Ha!
On the other side of the board, things were not going that well. I
moved MY condor, and demon tanks forward, hoping to draw fire and
allow the infantry to scoot by so they could get to the Com Bunker.
If felt confident as both units had high defenses, and were hiding
in the cover of elevated, and hindering terrain. Unfortunately, I
hadn't counted on the horseshoe up Jim's ass, as he proceeded to hit
my condor with both his forestry mech, and his Schmitt. The condor
was turned to salvage, and the demon was left a sitting duck, with
no where to go. I returned fire, but my luck was not holding out,
and both units missed. The next turn the forestry took the heat, and
eliminated my condor.
In the mean time, however, I had managed to get most of my infantry
pretty close to the Com Bunker. Once there I would have to make a
capture attempt in order to start gathering intel. Jim was still
keeping his Clan Battle armor at bay, and out of range. I was a
little concerned about them, as they have flamers. If I got my mech
too close, they would pounce, and that unfriendly heat dial I told
you about would see some use. I thus elected to hold back with the
Legionnaire, and cover the infantry as they closed. I did however
mange to draw a little clan blood in the meantime with the hover
bike. For only fifteen points, this little guy is a bargin. It is a
one base infantry unit with a pulse laser, which means if it is
successful with its first attack, it may immediately attack again
(although the target gets a +2 defense bonus versus the second
attack). In addition it has "evade" giving it an additional +2
defense versus ranged attacks. This little guy rocks. I envision
using a whole squad of these guys when the game is released, heh,
heh.
The bike also has a kick ass move of 12", so when Jim moved his clan
units up to get a shot at my mech, I moved the hover bike into their
rear arc. On the next turn I pushed him and opened fire. I felt
confident, as the best he could do would be to push his units as
well, just to turn them around.
Unfortunately, I was not as successful as I would have liked, as I
hit with the first salvo, but missed with the second. I did two
clicks to one of the clan units, but took one myself for the push.
In addition, He finally decided to see what the forestry mech could
do, and brought it over to the melee.
I had now also brought over several more of the purifier battle
armor units (the ones with jump jets, and a move of 10"), and he was
getting worried. He knew that once my guys got the intel, they would
have little difficulty moving over the watery terrain, and getting
away. At this time, I also noticed that his forestry mech was in
charge range of my legionnaire. This probably was not the smartest
thing in the world, but I had a hankering to find out what that
chainsaw did anyway. In addition, My forces were slightly out
numbered as the Schmitt by this time had decimated my demon, and it
had gone out with a wimper…not even scratching the Schmitt. I
figured if I could just keep the forestry mech busy for a turn or
two, it would give the infantry time to gather the intell, and we
could play "Taco Bell" and make a run for the border.
Now this is where things go really wrong. I had moved the
legionnaire the previous turn, so I was going to take a click of
heat for moving it again. In addition, you have to make a "run move"
to charge… another click of heat.
Well, my attack roll on the charge was piss poor, and I missed. I
had figured that if the charge was successful, I would do five
clicks of damage, and eliminate that chainsaw. Now I was face to
face with the thing, and it was running full bore! I rolled for ammo
explosion for the heat, and made it, but now it was Jim's turn.
Now, remember, I had taken three clicks early on from the condor, so
I wasn't completely "untouched" going into this melee. Jim wasted no
time, and attacked immediately, rolling a 15, plus his 10 attack,
for a 25... More than enough. Now, he could have just done 3 clicks
of damage, but the hand to hand weapon lets you roll a die for
damage instead. So he rolled… a SIX! Son-of-a bitch! That shot
decimated my mech… it wasn't out, but it was in piss poor shape. In
addition, his clan units were now in close combat with my infantry,
and he was putting those flamers to good use.
The following turn, I tried to mount some type of counter, but my
Legionnaire's offensive capability was nominal, and missed with its
attack. In addition, my capture attempt on the Com Bunker failed,
and all my units were engaged. Thus no intel was gathered, and my
ability to even destroy the bunker was looking bleak. I attacked
with the hover bike, but it failed to do damage.
On Jim's turn he took the heat, and attacked again. His heat dial
was proving to be a huge advantage, as he still didn't even have to
roll for ammo explosion. With the reduced defenses of the
Legionnaire, it was an easy target. He rolled again…a four! And that
was all she wrote, as on the fourth click three bullet holes showed
up in the display.
After that there's not much to tell, the Clan battle armor munched
up on my infantry, and my mission was an abysmal failure. Obviously,
a big win for the forces of evil! Ha!
Evaluation:
All I can say here is wow. Jim and I had a blast, and the way the
forces interact… this game rocks! Yes, I know I had been
anticipating the thing, but it exceeded my expectations. From the
small selection of units we had to work with, the potential for more
exciting matches is obvious. I also know why they were touting that
forestry mech so much… it kicks major ass! When you see how the heat
dial, and the hand to hand options come into play… strategies start
forming in your head!
Another unit I liked was the Hover Bike. Like I said earlier…at only
fifteen points, you could definitely field a bunch of them. With a
potential four clicks a shot they are dangerous. Now picture nine of
them together using the formation rule. One group of three moves,
the other shoots, the other recovers. Alternate, and repeat… Back up
with a tank, and lead in with a mech or two… Damn! Is it August 21st
yet?
_________________
Mechlord
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That which does not kill me will probably taste great well done, with a side of sharp chedder, and a fine red wine
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Vagabond
Mercenary
Mr. Referee
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 5937
Location: United States
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| Posted: 29-Jul-2002 01:13 Post subject: RE: MWDA Battle Report, as promised |
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well this is how i see this forming in my mind..........
as robotech is a different universe of macross, so is MW:DA.
this system looks enjoyable and easy to learn. quick to play, and enjoyable enough to by. thou i'm still withholding final judgement for when i play it.
hope this dosent break the posting rule chihawk. its just what hit me this mornin and this performance statement just sorta fortified it.
_________________
one must work hard to cultivate the mind and body. and one must always cultivate the mind.
//^(^_^)^\\
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Warner
Clan Nova Cat
Oathmaster
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 175
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| Posted: 29-Jul-2002 08:14 Post subject: RE: MWDA Battle Report, as promised |
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Quote:
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On 2002-07-28 23:40, Mechlord3130 wrote:
Mechwarrior: Dark Ages, Battle Report
Evaluation:
All I can say here is wow. Jim and I had a blast, and the way the forces interact… this game rocks! |
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Thanks Mechlord3130. We found this out early on in the Playtesting in the early testing. I didn't get a chance to finish up in the testing after the first evaluation. But I see the fruits of our labors. And after reading the rules now I am really excited about the. I am as excited about this as I am Project Phoenix!! 
I would hope others would give it a chance without simply dismissing it and calling it dead but that's not going to happen. Its good to see that the game was fun for you and Jim!
_________________
As always, enjoy!
Warner Doles
"Who am I? I am the right hand of fiat, tormentor of souls, death incarnate, and the last living writer you will ever see. Randall sent me."
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Mechlord3130
Clan Nova Cat
Point Commander
Joined: 24-Jul-2002 00:00
Posts: 17
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| Posted: 29-Jul-2002 09:24 Post subject: RE: MWDA Battle Report, as promised |
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The battle report doesn't fill the little nuances of the game. For example, the saw and waist twist on the forestry model, allowing Jim to twist his unit's saw so it was "cutting" right into my mech during the attack. The visual was devastating... We were laughing so hard...
I also thought the way the "one use equipment" work. SE with a circle give the unit a "click" to reflect the expenditure. It was cool to see the movement and defense of the unit IMPROVE once the heavy ballastic ammo was gone.
Very well thought out!
_________________
Mechlord
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That which does not kill me will probably taste great well done, with a side of sharp chedder, and a fine red wine
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