BATTLETECH Jump Point S2 Ep13 | Designing Custom Campaigns & Missions

BATTLETECH Jump Point S2 Ep13 | Designing Custom Campaigns & Missions | Video Podcast

Рет қаралды 1,747

Ай бұрын

Dave, Thom and Aaron are back for another Sunday morning Jump Point extravaganza. This time, the team talks about designing customized campaigns and missions, and some of the things we consider in the creative process.
Also stay jacked in for a look at the Chameleon - one of the new designs from the Mercenaries kickstarter.
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Пікірлер: 54

@lorcannagle Ай бұрын

One thing I'd love to see in whatever replaces Total Warfare/BattleMech Manual is a mission matrix. Something that gives guidelines on how much BV to take in what eras to have so many units on the table for a game of a certain length, and maybe some more thoughtful scenario ideas. One of the best games for this was Mongoose's Starship Troopers, where you had asymmetric scenarios based on the force level you chose to bring. A lower force level gave you an easier mission but less access to the really powerful gear, and the objectives were based on comparing your force level to your enemy's. Maybe not the exact same setup, but something to give the game a bit more structure if the players want it. On the campaign front, I find the biggest problem with an open-ended or narrative campaign is that it always peters out sooner or later, so the newer CGL-published campaigns that have a set amount of time in mind, like say the mini-campaigns in Tukayyid strike a good balance there. I had one published in issue 14 of Shrapnel that's designed to run for no more than 5 games with set objectives and has very limited capability for repair between games but has a sense of asymmetric play as well so hopefully people have enjoyed that or it sparked some ideas for them.

@blightbringer2912 Ай бұрын

We are starting to work out custom missions for a campaign in the WOB era. We play AS. Last week we made a test game and it was a blast :) Greetz from Germany :)

@slice1208 Ай бұрын

I could see an Alpha Strike tournament where you have 300 points of mechs. You play 6 games. If your mech takes armor damage, it can sit out for a game to repair the armor; if it takes structure damage, then it can sit out 2 games to repair armor and structure; and if you have systems damage, you can sit it out 3 games.

@klinktastic Ай бұрын

We just played a game where we had to protect a train leaving the train station. WE proxied it with a bunch of combat vehicles. Each turn it added 1 hex to its movement to simulate the slow acceleration. There were a few units designated as 'engines' of which 4 of the 6 needed to be immobilized/destroyed to prevent the train from getting off board. Map had a lot LOS blocking terrain so mobile units were key. OpFor had a Naga and the Arrow IV nearly took it down. But the train was successfully defended. It brought vital information to the command center under a ECM interdiction by the Steel Viper warship. This prevented the Steel Vipers from getting good positioning on the next mission which is the defense of the planetary capital.

@lukedudley5030 Ай бұрын

The story telling aspect and persistent damage and ammo is why we use cbills in our games....we have had so many campaigns where you buy your starting mechs but have to consider repairs so need to save money back for that or run to mitigate damage...we are currently running a mercenary campaign where the players are building a mercenary force and do single or short run missions sets to increase their stable and improve their pilots...I'm about to put them into the clan invasion where they will face clan mechs for the first time so that will be fun :-) the missions in this system don't have to be fair but fun with an emphasis on the story rather than winning, losing or bragging rights.

@chrispetersen4863 Ай бұрын

I have ALWAYS loved the Chameleon! Since my first game back in 1986!| I had no idea they were producing one with Merc kick-starter. I will be acquiring (at least) one! Love Aries' Games new website design. Derek knocked it out of the park!

@Redmow51 21 күн бұрын

Ohhh. YOu mentioned Shadowrun. My goodness, I loved that RPG. Absolutely loved it. This was back in the mid to late 90's that we played it. Soooooooo fun!

@DeathfromAboveWargaming 20 күн бұрын

I have fond memories of the 90s rpgs! So many great ones.

@klinktastic Ай бұрын

We had a sweet mission that was a 2 stage mission on the same map. Mission was on like a 50x140 which was to disable a nuclear launch facility that was protected by AA guns. STage was 1 for a jump capable company of 5/8/5 or better to jump the mountains to the valley to take out the turrets. Once those turrets were disabled stage 2 could begin. Stage 2 was a Union dropship flying on board to deliver a heavy/assault company to siege the base which was garrison by a tough force. Adding criteria to missions like speed profiles, jump only, etc are good ways to make missions more unique. Also adding multiple objectives on the board can make for fun scenarios. This particular mission used these design principles and was super fun. The initial company did not have the fire power to take on the main objective but if they did well taking out the perimeter forces and AA guns then they would provide a decided advantage for the players when commencing the final assault.

@tiny_worlds Ай бұрын

Every single game system benefits from a campaign system. Especially 40k, which can be a dry exercise in dice rolling without a narrative and a reason to preserve forces. The Battlefleet Gothic campaign system is one of my favourites.

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

I think you’re right! When there is something bigger going on, those narrow grinding wins don’t always mean you won!

@sebastiang.5032 Ай бұрын

I've waited for this to go live! Gonna watch this while I'm putting Decals on my new 5th Crucis Lancers minis. 🐺🖖

@HouseMasterPoDing Ай бұрын

This is actually the one DFA show that I don't watch in the background while other stuff is going on, I have to focus on the video itself to get the best from it.

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

You may miss all my facial expressions when Thom says crazy things

@HouseMasterPoDing Ай бұрын

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming Say whaat?

@MOrab46019 Ай бұрын

I always love the campaign with friends. With a room where I don't have to take down the maps and minis now It is even more fun to play that type of game. Plus with the merc rules allowing you to get lance and unit specializations in Battletech Field Manual Merc book 1701. These rules at not in 10977. I miss the old Mechwarrior rules ep were given for hits landed on any enemy forces and would get the mech weight taken out by exps. So win or lost you still got something. The Chameleon the older art had it parts that came from Stinger or Wasp. Now not sure. The back cockpit might be a throw back to F-18 where they paint under the aircraft where the cockpit is on top.

@HouseMasterPoDing Ай бұрын

Can't go an entire video without taking a shot at Capellans, can you? But Master Po will forgive it on account of that sweet hoodie that you're wearing, Aaron! In all seriousness though, this was a great episode, I learned a lot from it and it was quite entertaining without being too controversial, so I loved it. I was really intrigued by the reinforcements concept that Dave mentioned for NOVA. I'll have to hit him up on discord for more info about that! As always, keep the great content coming, gentlemen!

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

And dont worry, I will personally give the Capellans some love very soon.

@HouseMasterPoDing Ай бұрын

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming I don't know if I should be elated or terrified of this....either way, looking forward to it!

@99zxk Ай бұрын

The Chameleon is almost as old as Battletech itself. Keeps a similar design, too. My source: 40 years of play after I started BT with the Battletech 2nd Edition box in the 80's (not Battledroids, unfortunately).

@klinktastic Ай бұрын

Mek HQ is perfect for managing your campaigns by the way!

@dewbert45 Ай бұрын

Quote of the episode, Aaron: "I feel like I am a number two."

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

*makes farting noises*

@bruced648 Ай бұрын

for campaigns, having a dedicated GM is significant. someone that has a concept for the overall story and can moderate the battles as well as the down time activities. as GM, I run Mechwarrior 2nd ed rpg mechanics for the key characters. this allows some advancement opportunities and some role-playing. my basic format uses the following: role-playing / mission role-playing - understand the overall campaign objectives. set up the location and key personalities. players must figure out what they are using and how to arrive. once on world, players may meet friendly, neutral or opposing forces. players need to establish a 'base of operations' to maintain supplies and make repairs. now the game takes on a simple flow. role-playing various potential objectives (scouting) determine the objective conduct the mission after action activities and role-playing. (repeat) most importantly, as GM, I've pre-determined the entire opposing forces. they are already allocated to various locations. as missions occur, those forces get moved around, damaged, destroyed or captured. by having this already determined, it limits the abilities of the opposition. finally, I prefer the c-bills method for maintaining the players forces. BV2 is good for one-shot games and tournaments, but doesn't really work for campaigns.

@johnhennon3694 Ай бұрын

Enjoyed listening to the conversation. Couple of thoughts: 1) I was surprised by the general dislike for asymmetric scenarios. I have had a lot of fun with disparate forces having different victory conditions. 2) I have always wanted to play a campaign with the large map you guys described. Allocating your forces to your objectives without knowing what opposition they may face sounds really exciting and challenging

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

Oh we LOOOOOVE asymmetric for narrative… as long as both players still have a chance!

@brycie35 Ай бұрын

Hi guys, I agree with you Aaron I love BT narrative campaigns over stand alone mission. A couple of years ago you inspired me to create a BT RPG campaign where we adopted Destiny rules to run the battles in what you now call “Override” rules. However after 2 years as running as GM…I became time poor and unfortunately had to end the campaign. However, I am in the process of converting the campaign to Alpha strike so we can continue the story line of the “11th Fusiliers” when we catch up for boys weekend, where I will be using your alpha strike campaign rules to run our narrative campaign. I love watching your campaign battle reports and I hope you post many more in the future. Thanks again for all of your videos

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

Thank you for watching and leaving this comment! Love it. Keep those dice warm!! Hopefully you can find some more gaming time 🙂

@Gh0stClown Ай бұрын

Regarding randomised deployment methods, the WW2 game Chain of Command has a pretty neat way of handling it. There's a sort of pre-battle minigame called the Patrol Phase where each player gets a number of 2.5" tokens which you take turns moving up from your board edge. Each player's tokens have to form a continuous chain no more than 12" apart, and 'lock' into place if they come within 12" of any of the other player's tokens. Once all the tokens are locked in, you take turns to place deployment points by picking one of your tokens, then placing the deployment point anywhere in or behind cover in a zone opposite the two closest enemy markers. It sounds a bit complicated written down but once you see how it works it's pretty intuitive. It means you get a more dynamic deployment closer to the middle of the board and also adds a tactical element to getting your tokens in position.

@jamesstricklerii5384 Ай бұрын

I think that defining each opposing sides goals for the campaign before the start of it will also influence the unique experience of play and add a narrative element that will drive investment. If your side is assaulting a planet, but wants to capture it for its resources, it will operate different than an attacking force looking to decimate enemy production by destroying key facilities held. Now take those objectives and combine them with the scenario missions you have created, and finally combine them so they are taking effect on a map so that each scenario has a feel of impacting a specific point on the world being invaded and I could see you having something in depth enough to where it will allow for investment from your players no matter what kind of setting (tournament or casual). This may just be the RPG player in me, but the more elements of change that occur in the campaign with a lasting effect is what makes me interested in playing something like this. Another interesting thing that could be conducted during this is permanency of force attrition, not just from this campaign, but also into the next (the same way rpg tournaments let you carry one character between campaigns). In this, not only do the affected units you started the campaign with control your outcomes on the current campaign, but when the unit is refielded in the next campaign, you have to deal with the lost units and resupplies prior to starting. This way, a progression for your unit exists and there now develops a story not just for each individual unit involved, but for the unit as a whole and the awards and accolades they have accumulated.

@KTSTHofficial Ай бұрын

Super insightful episode- I really want to run a narrative campaign for my friends but I have little experience in that regard. Been tossing around ideas in my head for a narrative Solaris VII tournament where the players vie for the attention of a yet to be determined merc company or something. I think that would help give my friends a taste for it all while giving a chance to build complexity later, all the while keeping salvage calculations to a minimum for me while offering an excuse to use an old Solaris VII map I've inherited. I mostly just need a reason to use these custom arena walls I printed for said arena so that also kinda decides the direction I'm going.. 😆

@matthewneuendorf5763 Ай бұрын

I wonder how well a game of Catan would do for building a strategic map. It'd have kind of organic development of infrastructure which might be more interesting than more intentional planetary map design.

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

Ever play Carcassone? We need a BT edition.

@mathewkelly9968 Ай бұрын

Our group has been using Heavy Gear Style objectives

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

Any good? Which book? I will have to take a look!

@mathewkelly9968 Ай бұрын

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming the latest 3.1 ruleset

@verysilentmouse Ай бұрын

Watching from hospital must get my dfa fix

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

Get well soon!

@mathewkelly9968 Ай бұрын

6:00 controversy incoming : the games that do campaigns well and easily and are designed around it are Battle Fleet Gothic , Necromunda , Blood Bowl and Mordheim .

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

Haha love it! Dan was big into BFG, I only played a couple times… I have a bunch of Necromunda stuff - that is a good time.

@mathewkelly9968 Ай бұрын

@@DeathfromAboveWargaming BFG is the bomb game of all time , no matter the cost if GW do it again BattleTech is in trouble with me

@bryy2053 Ай бұрын

Speaking of Exo Squad (my favorite of ALL saturday morning cartoons) the longbow would definitly be piloted by Wolf Bronski....but he would perfer the HERO HAIL STORM.

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

Wolf Bronski!!! 100%

@madcat3525 Ай бұрын

Great video! Thom in the mix is always controversial. Looking forward to more videos.

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

LOL!

@fmailaender Ай бұрын

We have one guy who is great in making a Story out of one shot games. So while we basically had a "Campaign" over a couple of game nights we got a Comeback Mechanic. We had one game where one of us played a Stone Rhino and hardly got hit and got 2 Headshots in one game. He got a bit cocky which upset the gaming group a bit. The next game was a blast. The Story was that IS Reinforcements arrived (RCT Level) and one of the guy he killed was the son of a Duke. So they issued a kill order for this now fleeing Clan Troups (they where a Trinary in the Beginning less than two Stars left with only one active Assault. So the battle was a Stone Rhino with half empty Gauss Bins vs. a full lance. An obligatory Atlas, a Zeus , a Battlemaster and I forgot the last one but it was another Steiner Heavy or Assault Mech. Of course that was the Personal Guard of the Duke so they all where 1/1 Pilots 😊. The Mission for the Stone Rhino was to flee. We all (including the Stone Rhino Player) had a great Evening with the Battlemaster finally coring the Stone Rhino and then killing the Pilot by kicking in the Cockpit (for the fluff) So if you have the one guy that can make the Story work and entertain the group you do not need Campaign rules and you even can enjoy the one or other asymmetric game you start on the (obviously) loosing side.

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

Love it!!

@agamelift Ай бұрын

Awesome video, lots of great things to consider. I completely agree with Thom's thoughts on being able to predict what happens next - what happens if one side wins or the other does and then how that plays out for the losing side. But, to take care of your first point, as always there was nothing controversial about this video just like your last ones. The activists are brigading everywhere they can create some faux justification. Great video, keep it up!

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@bigkahuna1510 Ай бұрын

Ivw been designing a campaign system for a group at my lgs. Uve been using your campaign system as a guide with other elements mixed in such as thjngs frok the campaign operations book. I love your system for suply points being used to purchase everything. Ive had to alter some things for parts such as having 2 teams with multiple people and possiblh removing escalation sizes for just one set max bv per mission. I might be adding a Command Point system which will supply you a very small amoung of points used to purchase pilot skills, special command abilities, or even possibly lance types. Such as if you have the mechs to run a pursuit lance you can purchase that upgrade and now any time your run one of those mechs they will have the ability of being in a pursuit lance, though i might make it so you onlh get the benefit if running them together.

@bigkahuna1510 Ай бұрын

I'm seriously considering signing up for that campaign consultation 😆

@DeathfromAboveWargaming Ай бұрын

Hahah Thom has lost his mind 😂

@Redmow51 21 күн бұрын

Great games for campaings? Like Dave mentioned....Mordheim. I absolutely loved that game. And Necromunda...you get so attached to your characters. Even Blood Bowl.