Thursday, March 31, 2016

Telemetry Kit Equipment Review by David McCallum #701548


Well spank my chassis and call me Susan!


I was certainly excited when I first saw this. Decent dodge and a fair swag of shielding.... I've said it before and I'll say it again, love a shield.


Then I took a second look, and realised that it was 5 tons too light for my command Smilodon, and I cried.


Then I realised what would still be able to use it and I took a third look.


If you have to take a third look, there something about it that means there's more to it than meets the eye.


Now I will say upfront that this advice is not for those who are working their line up for the first time. If your battle line consists of 40 to 60 ton mechs that can use this, you shouldn't be even considering a purchase. You need to be spending your hard earned Niodes on good shielding and Auto Repair.


If you are thinking about buying anything else, you are either so rich that you aren't going to bother listening to me, or you should start using your hairdryer in the shower to save time. Either way, removing yourself from the gene pool would be a service to the rest of us.


No, I'm looking at these with the jaundiced eyes of a veteran. And that's not a euphemism for me being old, even if I can remember a time when the Galaxy didn't have Pot Noodles....


You see, at a certain level, tonnage and the associated specialist classes that go with them start getting categorized by the way that the battle flows.


The first type is obviously your mainline heavies, 75 ton plus and unless you can get insane crit kill and / or damage multipliers, a grinding war of attrition. It also bears pointing out that this is going to be where the vast bulk of your funds are going to be ploughed in to.


The second are the lights, from Red Ants at the bottom up to maybe 30 or 40 tons. These fights are lightening fast. If you are hit, you are dead. The weapons are just so powerful that its almost impossible not to one shot your enemy. Speed, dodge and accuracy are what really count.


Then you have the third category, ranging from perhaps 35 and 40 tonners up to 70s. The gals and guys that excel at these tonnage classes are some of the nastiest pieces of work in the game and are pound for pound hard as a brick in the face. Through a combination of higher armour points and better shielding, these mechs can take a couple of hits, maybe 3 at best on the heavier classes. Overcharge weapons and crit kill are still low enough chances to be an exception rather than a norm. Punching a hole and swarming a line are the order of the day.


It is fair to say that these folks are not necessarily right in the head...


The issue for them is one of survivability. If a Red Ant is killed by trample or splash and a Boreas can simply shrug it off, these mechs (while able to survive it) have had their effectiveness halved by that collateral damage... what could once take 2 hits is now a single shot kill.


So what can a Telemtry Kit do for them?


Lets start with book values. 30 Niodes, 515 Ferrite and 430 Bioptics for a dodge rating of 13 and a whole raft of collateral damage shielding. Weight range band is 40 to 60 ton mechs. Now that dodge value is as good as the best Crystal piece in the weight bracket, so no loss there. There is also ZERO penalties or vulnerabilities with this kit.


Previously the only protection for these classes when not in the front line was either Calibrated Joints or the Anti Matter Dome. The first sacrifices dodge and only gives trample shielding, but since it is a crystal system it is certainly worth consideration. The Anti Matter Dome does give superior Splash, Fork and Trample resistance while sacrificing an amount of shielding, but the big problem is that it does bring into play a vulnerability to laser fire. These classes see a lot of laser fire, especially when going for that elusive crit kill that will break a line.


Of course the biggest mechs on the front line will not wish to give up their Untuam Actuators with higher dodge and a speed hit to boot. The best defence against incoming fire is still to shoot the enemy first or failing that to not be there. But the lighter ones, slightly further back? They have suddenly got a second very valid option to keep them in the fight longer once it reaches them.


The biggest problem though, is the expenditure justification. Niodes spent on your big attack formation will always pay themselves back. Niodes spent on a secondary formation had better be useful for blocking enemy attacks as a specialist or for hunting a good number of enemy specialists.


Maybe for once its a good thing that I'm not right in the head, because I really really want some of these and being mad as a meat axe, I don't need to justify anything.


The Raccoon speaks the truth.... Wibble...





Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Mech Review: The Buccaneer By Kenneth Hicks #846092

New from Consolidated Mecha Incorporated is the sleek and sexy Buccaneer.

Riding the wave of their success with the rebuild on the venerable Holmes model, the R&D department found itself flush with the credits they needed for making a new niode matrix driven Medium Class mecha that had little input from the Marketing Division on Telluryde VII.

Now in the owner's manual, you will find about 5,000 pages that are devoted to telling you about the Type 6 A.I. that is cocooned within a high density niode matrix with detailed target analysis interface that increases the pilot's ability to target vulnerable kill shot solutions at a higher rate of success. 5,000 pages. Long story short, this mech shoots lasers very fast and very well.


By level 30, you have eight equipment slots, nine weapon slots, and the standard smattering of laser damage and x2 damage percentiles, but they also found room to give it some trample shielding so it can sit in those back ranks with some damage survivability. The Buccaneer doesn't stop there though. It contains to gain extras all the way to level 156 which make this a very scary Medium class mech for not a lot of investment.



It will be very interesting to see how this highly competitive mech will be utilized in future Specialty Formations with it's ability to outshoot anything in the 35-55 ton range arguably. The Fides being the one exception to this statement, but the Buccaneer's ability to snipe a crit shot makes it a very dangerous foe.



So with all of these positive things to be said for the Buccaneer, I believe it will be safe to say that the boys down in R&D are going to be sitting pretty well off for some time to come. Just head on down to the port next time your in town, look up Johnny Winkershot in Bay11 on mid level 5 and tell him you read this plug in Galaxy Gathering. This will get you a chance to go into the back room and check a couple of these babies out on the live range before purchase. 

Until next time, this is Kenneth Hicks telling you that if you don't read up before you drop your credits, come over here and I got a special deal for you.


Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Lower Levels Hitting Higher Levels By Pat Willis#224534

You see it every now and again. The odd ball fight in your fight history of someone significantly lower in level than you actually hits you. Most of us watch the replay just to see who was gutsy enough to try in the first place, or watch to see how many one hit kills we get on the challenger, or even what the biggest hit was that did away with them.

The reality of the situation at least from my point of view is to take them less as a joke, or one off resource collector and more of an evaluation. I mean think about it we were all there at one point. All agog with wonder at all the shiny metal toys we could get a hold of, maybe not pilot right away, but we could own it through one means or another. We challenged those higher than us once upon a time often to see what the other mechas were like to fight against and only dreaming what they would one day be like to pilot. Much the same with the weapons we weren't at sufficient level to get yet.

When lower levels hit us it is also a good time to see what they are packing, do they have a lot of winner #1 mechas, niode gear, and a smart line up? If so think about mentoring such a person and groom them for possible clan recruitment later. If they are just weekend thought jockeys, well let them have their fun and hit you, it  isn't like a loss counts for anything so they aren't even hurting their own stats to go suicidal on you. So take a good long look at who is attacking you, see if you can get a sense of what they are about play wise. At worst you make yet another enemy in a game full of them. At best you may earn a possible ally and an investment in your clans future.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Let's Talk Engines by David McCallum #701548



Cue the regular complaints about equipment that costs too much and has built in penalties.


How dare they develop equipment like this.


NEWS FLASH!!!


There is a line of equipment that consistently delivers exactly what it says on the tin, is cheap as chips and has no drawbacks.


Humble. Motive. Power.


Lemme get a "VROOM" from the audience...


Seriously though, one single line of unadulterated decent equipment is the humble crystal engine. And in most cases, its some of the best there is too!


Lets start at the very bottom. Your basic Block Charge. At a speed rating of 25, there is no faster rated
engine. You can have an engine with the same weight range and speed rating for 11 Niodes if you get a Cogwerk Micro Block... that niode expenditure essentially buys you a single point of auto repair. Seriously... what use is 1 auto repair in a fight where mechs fall over when you sneeze at them?


The point is though, the cheapest engine there is is the best there is.


The pattern stays the same moving up the weight brackets. We will ignore the crossover points where two crystal engines meet, because obviously you won't make the mistake of equipping a slower engine. (Yes, we've all done that...)


Next up is the Wankel Rotary, weighing in with a speed of 20 for a measly 32 Crystal. At the bottom end, niode expenditure can only equal rather than surpass it. Yes, Niodes get you a few nifty tricks like slow or armour. But the point is that pure Cystal will still get you all the speed you can get and at the top of its bracket there is still nothing comparably as fast.





After that is the Pebble Bed Reactor. 47 Crystal and a speed of 14. Now a 40 Niode Semi Stable Field will give you 3 more speed, but ah-ha... we start running into penalties, in this case a chunk of 8% laser vulnerability. Lasers have been your staple weapon since you first mounted your Warhorse... no pun intended.


54 Crystal for a Max Torque Charged and its straight speed of 10. For 43 Niodes you can get an Indefinite Singularity, 1 more point of speed and a rip roaring 3% 2x damage multiplier. Not exactly a huge bonus for such expenditure, and that is the only engine faster.






No crossover point before we move up to the Heat Cycler at the same Crystal cost but a bit more Bioptics and Ferrite. Now lets be honest, at this weight range you really want the R.A.C.E. The point is though, crystal still buys you one of the fastest engines available with no drawbacks.




At the top of the range there is the Kinetic Converter. 56 Crystal for a speed of 5. Now admittedly  there are five other engines that are faster. All but one, the new Zentron Thrusters have penalties associated with them. This is probably where the complaints, especially by the highest level and most vocal players are coming from.






The thing is, I don't know why. I don't understand why there are complaints when there is a whole range, a whole classification of equipment that goes from the lightest mech to the heaviest behemoth that has a range of cheap, excellent stuff that has no drawbacks.


Sometimes, these things need to be pointed out so that people can just be quiet for a while.




Submitted by David McCallum #701548

The Interview You've Been Waiting For by David McCallum #701548


Sometimes, you just have one of those days. 


We've had a few lately, whereby our illustrious leader has, for want of a better phrase, done a bunk.


It was on one of these days that behind the scenes, certain comments were made between Kenneth and myself, and it led me to crack into the Galaxy Gathering security system to retrieve certain tapes....


Let me set the scene... a few days ago, and our Faction has just won gold in division 2. The after party has been done and dusted and it's the wee small hours, but there is still an edition of GG to get out for the next day. I'm beavering away trying to make deadline when guess who rolls in...


PAT: Here We Gold, Here We Gold,Here We Gold! Here We Gold,Here We Gold,Here We Go-old!....


ME: I take it from your unusually jovial and yet completely usual alcohol sodden state you enjoyed yourself at the party?


PAT: <Hic> Shuddup 'n' do some work you, you... you...


ME: Well at least your eloquency has gone up a notch. Seriously though, I know you and Joel are good mates but can you put the sheep down?


PAT: He's m' best pal, 's Joel... an' so's this ship... sheep...


ME: Yes, and from the panicked look on its face, I'm pretty sure how you think that sheep looks through your beer glasses... but I'm afraid I have to insist.


PAT: Insist, eh? Tell you 'bout insist.... I insist on a thing....


ME: Any particular thing or just a thing in general?


PAT: You know, a... thing... we do 'em when there's a war on and things...


ME: You mean an interview?!?


PAT: Yeah, that thing... an I'mma boss so you can just... yeah...


ME: <sigh> All right then... boss... for the record, welcome to the Galaxy Gathering. Let's have name, rank, faction and serial number.


PAT: 'm Patrick Willis... rank, your boss <giggles>... faction is Death's AFF Big Golden (redacted)... serial number you can go look up, butt face! <giggles>


ME: I see... so then Pat, you've already been quite explicit on how well the faction did, but how do you feel you did yourself?


PAT: Ha! Got me a Migzum... a Maggazoom... a yellow, big spider bug thing...


ME: A Megazome.


PAT: S'right... got top fifteen things... where's my 'mergency bottle of bourbon?


ME: Bottom drawer, along with the rest of the empties. So you actually did some work and managed a top fifteen place... wonders will never cease. Anything else of note you did during the war?


PAT: Did Wiseman!


ME: Excuse me?!? You...


PAT: Wiseman... Space Ghost... beat him fair n square. Hah!


ME: Thank goodness you clarified that one...


PAT: Wanna know why I beat him, hmm, wanna, hmm?


ME: Yes, please, do enlighten us.


PAT: Cos I'm N N N N N N N N BATMAAAAN!!!!

<sounds of Patrick falling off his chair in a fit of giggles>


PAT: Wossat sound...? 'm getting shot!


ME: Relax, it's just me typing.


PAT: <giggles> 'm getting shot by a keyboard... 'm dying! Hey Dave, if I die during the night will you wake me up in the morning?


ME: Yes, Patrick, don't worry.


PAT: You wanna know somethin', hmm? You're not to bad for a... a... thing...

<redacted sounds of extreme flatulence measured on the Richter scale and Patrick giggling himself to sleep>


ME: Well, I guess this concludes the interview.... note to self, next time, get him to agree to a pay rise before he gases himself into a stupor... oh well.

Hey KENNETH? Pat needs you in here a minute... oh, and never did say, welcome to the Galaxy Gathering!




Submitted by David McCallum #701548






(drunk sheep image by VladanJovanovicNaf on deviantart.com)

Monday, March 28, 2016

Clan War Specialist By Pat Willis#224534

During Clan Wars we usually see a bunch of specialist positions being utilized to keep losses to a minimum, and throw off the other clan when attacking. The most successful of these that I have personally observed are the weight class specialists. Those specialists make you fight their way, with their tonnage, and usually with their full killer arsenal strewn across only a handful of mechas. Not to mention any tonnage specific equipment toys they may be saving or have in reserves. Those fights unless you have a highly significant level differential are anyone's guess when they happen.

On the other end of the war specialist spectrum we have the weapon specialist. No matter if it's fire, ice, missile, projectile, or laser, you wanna claim king of a weapon type well step right up and test your mettle. Oh yeah and possibly loose big in ways you never saw coming before. Why? Because you aren't the only one packing that weapon type, or doing that kind of damage.

Weapon specialists usually get percentage based damage extensions based on weapon type, above and beyond stat modification or weapon augmentation. So if you have your mecha rocking out with equipment, mecha set up, and basic build stats for Ice and you take an Ice specialist position, you could whoop some major ass, well in theory anyways.

See this specialist position has more flaws to it than many realize. For starters we all have the various weapon types in one form or another in our hangers on our mechas. So you are taking one hell of a gamble that you have bigger weapons, at higher ratings on your profile than I do. Sometimes that's right and an easy win. Sometimes it is very fatally an error of judgement.

To illustrate my point, last CW out I ran into a laser specialist. I happen to like lasers as a weapon and make most my mechas pack a few just in case. I have a stat rating of 84 to my laser damage which allows me 31.33% damage with ALL laser weapons. On top of that I was running the X9 potential damage Fext mecha, who is a laser bonus wielder, and equipment to help max out these mods, as well as damage. The end result was insane. Up to you on if you want to go for weapon specialist positions, but in weapon specialist it is more likely to work against you rather than for you.


Submitted by Pat Willis#224534




100 Ton Equipment Finally Getting There By Pat Willis#224534

Finally we have 100 Ton equipment that doesn't promote kick back, weapon vulnerabilities, or negative speed upon installation into your mecha. If you've been reading this site for a while you know one of my main contentions with this game has been the equipment and the various drawbacks that come with niode based equipment in particular, the higher in tonnage you go. I know I also am not the only one who was annoyed at potentially harmful equipment being sold off at premium niode prices.

Well it seems the Devs have heard us and released a whole new set of equipment with zero that's right ...zero drawbacks/defects. Gone are the kick backs, weapon vulnerabilities, and speed penalties in these newer designs.

Granted they don't have the ohhmph of the other equipment pieces in the same tonnage range, but they also won't help you blow up all the quicker either like the other pieces. Granted we're talking about 100 ton mechas here. That is no small deal, these are big machines. They have a lot of mass to move and in a fight, well let's be honest they aren't going to get out of the way of too many shots. So it seems they are more about taking fire and dishing it out.


While the new equipment pieces may not have as many points as the old "defective" models they do allow for offensive options. Bonuses to weapon type, Fork, Shielding, limited Auto Repair, and modifiers for x2, and Freeze damage. All in all when taken into account these are much more forward pieces that serve to solely augment the capabilities of a mecha not just boost one part at the expense of multiple others.

In the end it all comes down to player style, and what a pilot prefers to augment his or her mecha with. But at least now we have multiple methods of play. Go for the seemingly "defective" pieces, and get more bang out of your equipment until it makes you go bang, or go with the no fuss no muss straight forward pieces that do what they are supposed to without any drawbacks . So go simple, or gamble is what it breaks down to. Which do you prefer, and which would you rather equip?













 Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Comic Script Ideas Anyone By Pat Willis#224534

Hello all, do folks enjoy the comics we run here both player generated, and official MG made? Got an idea and want in on the action of making a script that may see the light of day on our pages? Here's what you do to get one made...

1. Send a submission detailing how you want your comic to go,between 3-8 panels please.

2. Include your player ID# with the submission to receive proper credit for your idea.

3. We take the idea, talk among ourselves, and pass it along to Molly with recommendations on if it works or not, or how to make it work if necessary.

4. Molly has final say on what is approved or not. But if it does make it she will mark you down on her list for the idea submission, and it is passed along to the artist or artists (We still don't know who makes those great strips)

5. Once it gets to the artist it's approved all you have to do is sit and wait for it to come out. Once it sees daylight, Molly would then pay out, and we get the finished product to put in our pages here.

So there you have it folks five simple steps to comic strip stardom! Best part is we're always accepting scripts, so there is no real expiration date on this offer. Still here reading this? Get on outta here and go think up a comic script.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Interview with Cher Lee #875837














Hello folks and welcome back to the Cantina! My name is Ken, and I'm the guy buying the drinks for a chance to talk with a long time pilot Cher Lee.


 Cher: Greetings Kenneth.


 Ken: Cher, what path did you take to get to where you're fighting now?


Cher: Now I'm slow leveling and plan to hit the 60s in a few more months as I feel it is much more fun at that level.


 Ken: What are some of the common mistakes that you are seeing in clan tactics or player tactics this war?


 Cher: Faction Wars is not common, but it's not rare. Faction Wars take a lot of hard work to create a clan of 40 or 50 members. I believe the main reason or a common mistake all clans or most clans does is a lack of communication. Lack of communication, planning, and deals of sorts.

 As for a 40 or 50 members in a clan, some people do not understand why it was at such high amount. But it's more of a tradition than a set of real battle. I remember the First Faction Wars. Everything was new and everyone who wasn't a good communicator had bad set ups for clans. 40-50 members is to bring in the rivals into a common goal.


 Ken: How do you feel about the increase in player accounts being reported? Do you think it's just a dirty tactic, or do you think it's personal?


Cher: The reason why many people are being reported and locked out is to disable them from their accounts. It could be a person reporting, but never can 1 person report 1 person and that person would be locked out or disable. One report can't do that much damage. it's a Facebook problem so to speak.


 Ken: What are some recommended ways pilots out there can improve themselves that you feel is being overlooked?


 Cher: I think I can use myself as an example. There are three types of players. The first and most common is campers. The second type is spenders and the third is free players. Now you can do combos with them meaning you can have a spender who's a camper and a camper who is a free player, but you can't have a spender who's a free player.

Camper means someone who try's not to level up and gain as much resource in order to beat players around their level. Free players are players who does not spend.

Spenders are players who spend money, but there are 2 main types of spenders. The first type of spender is a monthly spender for a low cost and the other type is a dropper. Someone who spend big money, but only once in a long while. Here's the catch though. I've have seen many big spenders not as strong as they should be. Just because you spend big money doesn't mean you're automatically stronger than a good camper or any other kind of players. It gives you the advantage to more equipment, weapons, and mecha, but if you don't know how to do builds and combos or maximizing your resources, than you're no better than a free player. So my point would be, having the correct build for the mecha and placement is the number 1 most important skill in order to become a better pilot.


 Ken: Someone recently said that M.G. was "a game of resources" and I found that very accurate. The ability to obtain and gather niodes, crystal, ferrite, and bioptics is critical to getting everything you need to being stronger. What are some of the things you've learned that could help our up and coming pilots?


Cher: The more friends you have in the MG world the more resources you'll gain. Stronger clans tends to have or gain better resources and of course a little investment helps too.

 Ken: Another thing I see is high level players who have issues with pilots 20 levels lower. How can these players improve?


 Cher: The level does not determine the strength of someone. The amount of niode gear does not determine who is stronger. A lot of people misunderstand that level does not equal strength, but what it does is guarantee you potential strength. At a higher level it gives you the advantage to better weapons, Mecha, and better raids. Does that mean you'll beat every players 10 level lower and higher than you, absolutely not. The best way to improve is to slow level. Know when you can level and if that level means you will be any good.


 Ken: What other advice do you have for the troops out there?


Cher: That's all I have for today. Thank You.


Well thanks for that Cher! I'll let you get back to work and settle up our tab then. I want to thank all the

patrons for hanging out and listening to Dragon Clan pilot Cher Lee and just remember,

the more you know, the less repair costs you'll need!.

Submitted By:

Kenneth Hicks

ID: 846092



Saturday, March 26, 2016

Ifrit's Gift By Pat Willis#224534

Today we are looking at the new niode fire weapon which is available for players level 8 and up. Please note it is a limited release weapon so act now to get one as there are no limits or restrictions to this weapon.

As this is a level 8  weapon there isn't much to compare it to at its level or even beneath it so we'll have to look at the higher level weapons to get an idea of how this one stacks up.

So the next fire weapon up as I see in the shop is the Red Plasma, available at leve1 19 it has 27 straight damage, 105 speed, and a weapon ability of Burn at 6%.

The Ifrit here has straight damage beat with a 35 compared to the 27, only has obe point off of speed with 104 as opposed to 105, and has two weapon abilities of Burn at 4% and 2X damage at 4%.

All in all this is actually a wicked weapon for being available to so low a player level. It pretty much beats out a weapon 11 or so levels higher than itself. So really no reason not to add it to your flame arsenal.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534


Friday, March 25, 2016

Galaxy Eye Weapon Review by David McCallum #701548


Right.


Lots of complaints from the crowded masses about how hard the raids are.


It's a fight, not a charity giveaway.


So lets go through some raid basics. Again.


The raids are hard. They are supposed to be. Its potentially the biggest prize pack there is in the game, and with a bit of luck you can come out with more booty than you can shake a stick at.


What they aren't, are PvP fights against a human opponent. You don't need balance and longevity in your mechs for a protracted fight; you need to disable or kill fast because the enemy is bigger than you, nastier than you and far far stupider than you.


Freeze is your friend, slow is your next best friend, but crit kill is what you want to... proverbially speaking, get in the sack.


And your best, most easily available weapon to do this with is the humble but ever popular Galaxy Eye.


There is a reason why such a low level weapon is theoretically restricted to 20 per pilot. Pound for pound, it is in my opinion, the best weapon in the game.


By the book, it has a cost of 28 Niodes, 465 Ferite and 217 Bioptics, or 112 Niodes for a 5 pack. Not that you can buy them anymore.  In most cases though, you will have been collecting them from prize drops in missions or stripping them from mechs such as the Smilodon where they come in as standard.


And what do you get for... well, in most cases, free?


43 Damage, which while under-powered at highest levels, is still better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Speed rating of 105, which is way up the top end of the laser range.


Slow of 10 and crit kill chance of 10%. Two of the attributes we are after for a raid weapon, and they aren't exactly low values either. If you were trying to get crit kill in the sack, you just got yourself a free threesome.


OK, I admit its not the most pretty weapon you will ever see. Let's be honest, it looks like somebody is attempting to illuminate a cat's bum with a neon green flashlight (and it didn't help matters any when the Heroes head tech Q decided to remind me of the fact when he mounted one on my command Smilodon in, for want of a better phrase, a rearward firing position). It may be the feline equivalent of a blue moon, but that doesn't detract from what a brilliantly versatile keeper that this weapon is.


How much more do I have to say? You should never ever under any circumstance sell these off, no matter how hard pressed you are for niodes. There will always be something else that comes along. There will always be a formation in your lineup that these are useful in. There will always be a mech that you realise has a stupidly high crit kill that these can fit onto.



There will always be another raid. Go get some big nasties.




Submitted by David McCallum #701548

The Big Bad by David McCallum #701548


Yesterday Patrick brought our attention to the future of Mecha Galaxy and the concept of aliens or not.


I'm going to weigh in on my views, and how I would go about it.


Now, at the end of the day, the game is about the mechs. Backstory is great, but its the mechs and the game-play that counts. That's the biggest thing that needs the revamp.


I'll explain my position.


If you examine other franchises, along with the heroes and all their associated imagery, their is also their adversaries.


Star Trek had Kirk, Spock, the Enterprise and on the opposition... the Klingons. When they became allies in The Next Generation, the recurring nasties became the Borg. Voyager tried to bring in a nasty  called the Kazon at the start of the series, which unfortunately didn't gel with the audience, so they had to trot the Borg out for another outing... fandom went wild.


Batman and the Joker. Doctor Who and the Daleks. Superman and Lex Luthor. The list goes on and on.


The thing is, they all have three things in common.


The imagery of the bad guy is iconic and easily recognisable, almost as much as the heroes are.


The heroes don't fight them all the time. They have other adventures and other adversaries.


When the arch nemesis turns up, everyone goes wild.


Sometimes, the bad guy even gets a victory.


And the point with that is, there's absolutely nothing wrong with players losing. Hell, every single one of us has tasted defeat at some stage, if not in KotM or PvP then in a clan war where somebody came out of nowhere to kick us all over the place. We've gotten to the stage now where the raids and missions are a grind to get loot, rather than a legitimate fight to be respected.


Drake and any other clone based army is a good gimmick, especially when we end fighting ourselves, but since he became an actual player, Drake lost his mojo as a bad guy. Scaly face and his minions Bismark and Xerxes just didn't have the staying power... we deride rather than respect them.


We need a new "Big Bad".


Easy to say, says you all, but how would you go about it?


Ah-ha, says I, I have a plan.... a plan so cunning you could, as they say, put a tail on it and call it... a weasel.


Step 1. Throw a competition. Its a mech game, so we need mechs. Sketch artwork for a distinctive mech, say 200 niodes for the one chosen. Something for Nick's staff to get their teeth into. Private submissions only. If it appears on the boards prior to release, the entry is disqualified. Sorry.


Step 2. From that the devs create 4 versions of a mech. Light, medium, heavy and BFM. These are now the iconic bad guys. Also create a line of weapons and perhaps equipment for them, again individual and iconic. Power wise, it should probably be in the same power - weight ratio that the Novum is... in other words, definitely worthy of being the powerful bad guy. If you really wanted to be evil, make it completely unique, like the Romulans cloaking device was originally. Acid attack, that gives 100% burn chance? Electrical arc for 100% freeze? Something our current shields can't mitigate....


Step 3. NEVER EVER SELL ANY OF IT ON THE OPEN MARKET. This stuff should be sought after prized possessions. No price, resale value of zero. If it can't be bought, it's also fair that players can't make a profit from it.


Step 4. The release. Obviously the big one will be in a raid, but the first inkling, the build up as it were would be in ultra rare mission drops. Not the frequency of new mechs we had at Yomi with the dino mechs, but with the frequency that Novum drops in Novum Delorum are currently. Scattered
through all the missions, the drops can be either mechs or the specialised weapons and equipment. All nice and mysterious, all to get the player base doing missions. And don't restrict the level like the Regis was, its going to be rare enough as it is. If a low level is lucky enough to get a BFM, let them keep it... its only going to want those at their level do the missions to counter it.


Step 5. The Raid. The very first time, I'd almost be inclined to lock clans and hit them with a surprise auto-started raid, like we were hit with just prior to FW1. Hell, make it so hard that it will be really difficult to complete. Let the bad guys have a victory. Make the players respect them. The raid itself of course should consist only of the new mechs, so we know exactly who we are dealing with. Sure, drop the weapons and gear and level appropriate mechs as raid prizes... 1%, maximum of 1.


Heck, the first time, we wouldn't even need to know who the enemy was or where they came from... the artwork and backstory can come later... keep up the suspense.


The thing is, to get the good stuff they have, we should want to play. Want to do the missions, want to do the raids, because there should be no other way to get this stuff which should be hard to beat and a prized possession to have. It should be an enemy we respect, and not one that shows up every five seconds. If its a hard raid to beat, maybe it will act as a deterrent for people bottom loading their clans with weak players to drive their level down. When we get word that the random drops are starting to show again, we should getting on guard for a bad time.


Give us something to band together for. Something to respect or fear. Make us work for it.


Give us a new "Big Bad".


And it all ties back to that very first competition, the artwork for the first mech. It could be awesomely alien. It could be animal derivative. Or Zombie mechs. Crystalline. Steam-punk. Anything really. But that imagery would drive the new Big Bad... anything goes.


As long as we fear it....




(all references to other franchises are copyright of their respective owners and is used here for journalistic purposes. No challenge to trademark should be implied in any way)


Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Thursday, March 24, 2016

The Future Is Up To Us By Pat Willis#224534

We all have an idea of what Mecha Galaxy is or should be. You see it in the various stories that are submitted, in the lore that is written up for the game, and in the way people talk about various topics on the game board. We all have our own vision is what I am trying to say, and of course the Devs have their own vision that they allow us to share. Sometimes they even allow us direct access to the sand box to write up this mecha, or that piece of behind the scenes/lore.

This is one of those times but not by way of write ups, this is genuine opinion that is being asked for here, direct feedback if you will. I spoke with Nick Shapiro AKA Brainchef De Cuisine recently, and in our discussion the topic of the "Alien" races of the game came up. I was told during this conversation, "Maybe we'll work more aliens and such into the story line, if enough people find that more interesting. Maybe do some sort of poll, do people preffer the lore/mech descriptions/stories/etc to be focused on the human factions, or mix in more alien mechs too"

So I have a news network here, I have a direct route to you guys and gals who read the site. So what say you? Aliens yay, nay, less, or even more? We are being asked for our thoughts on this, if we let the chance slip past we'll just have to go with however things turn out. So let me sound off on this one.

Aliens yay all the way, hell even include a couple more races so it isn't just Forerunner this or that. Not saying go nuts with it but it makes sense. All those inhabited worlds with their own ecosystems already, bound to be more life out there than what we've seen thus far. Plus think of the faction war possibilities. Get a big bad from the corner of the galaxy no one knew about, could force the factions to call a truce and actually unite the galaxy. All kinds of possibilities become real if we keep or expand on the alien races.

So what do you folks think? We need feedback on this. So if you would be so kind as to just pop in the comments section and let us know your thoughts on the matter. Leave your player ID# at the end of the comment and we'll even mark you down for a niode or two as way of saying thanks.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Short cadence by Rhea Liestech # 921226



I don't know but I've been told,

Ants are brave and Ants are bold.

Shoot my laser thru your head,

You'll be sorry and be dead.

Sound of (sound of)

Red Ants (Red Ants)

Do you think it's time to fight boys?

Yes we sure do!

Do you think the cause is right boys?

Yes we sure do!

Sound of (sound of)

Red Ants (Red Ants)

One two three four

One two three four

Red Ants ARE GO!!






Submitted by Rhea Liestech # 921226

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Mech Review of the Mech With No Name by David McCallum #701548



This is going to be a mech review with a difference.... because I know absolutely nothing about this mech, so I'm going to have to make it all up!


Actually, that's a lie....


First of all, I'd be misleading you by intimating that I normally do reviews based on knowledge, when in fact I usually make it all up anyway.


Secondly, we do know at least a few things about it.


Well, its another of the 100 ton big jobs. And it certainly looks like it's a projectile mech.


Cost wise, its free! Well, at least it was for me and about a hundred others who are currently on the list awaiting delivery. It came free with a nice shiny gold medal up in Division 1 and 2. What the plebeian masses will have to pay once it hits the open market is anyone's guess.


We also know that it is going to be the singly most uncool mech in the history of everything, because Patrick Willis is also on the waiting list. Automatic un-coolness has been rubber stamped. Sorry. He's probably going to lose it whatever tatters of respectability it had left by calling it "Godzilla" or something like that.


In an attempt to regain some street cred for the poor feckless machine, we'd better give it a code-name.


Since it is currently a mech with no name, let's call it... Clint.


We aren't sure of the manufacturer as yet, but Clint certainly appears to have taken some pointers from the latest offering from Consolidated Mecha, the Buccaneer, in terms of styling and chassis drive train. The fact that Clint comes of the production line in Classic British Racing Green livery adds an amount of style and class.


Intercepted communications have labelled Clint as... sexy. And from what can be seen of the targeting and anti-recoil features, it looks like it could well be easy on the trigger with thought put into precision and/or crit-kill.


Unfortunately with it being one of the biggest mechs out there, speed and handling are still an issue, with an acceleration curve akin to an arthritic tortoise and an ability to go from 0 - 60 in around 3 weeks. Cornering has been likened to the turning circle associated with your average downtown warehouse.


But you are just missing the point of Clint, the point being an armour rating akin to an extinction event sized ferrous asteroid, Epsilon grade shielding that can stop a rhino on bad acid and an offensive throw weight of firepower like my wife when I haven't done the dishes... or a .44 Magnum that fired five shots rather than six...


I'm tempted to get up early and take Clint for a spin as soon as it gets delivered.... just so I can savor
it in all its glory.


At least before Patrick ruins Clint for all of us....


Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Fewer and Fewer by David McCallum #701548



There's a Tradition following a Faction War.


Of course it was the Bunnies who started it... they know how to throw a party, and who are we to stop them? It's grown since then of course.


A nightclub gets hired out. The only stipulation is that it has to have 2 dance floors and a private room. Hey, so pilots get a little bit rowdy.... It doesn't stop a multitude of establishments vying for the honour of hosting the After War party. They more than make their money back for any breakages.


Unlike the first Faction War party, the public are now allowed entry. As long as they can afford the door charge, and it is so exorbitant that the "public" consists of the Galaxy's rich and royalty. They are allowed into the first dance floor and no further, unless by invitation.


Of course, even though they are privileged, they don't enter the building. They are part of the crowd, a veritable who's who of celebrity, waiting for The Processions.


The processions of mech's. Not divisional prizes, they are too.... common. No, these mechs are the prizes for those who fought, and sometimes bled the hardest. They may be sold for scrap afterwards, depending on the whims of the victor, but they are all retained for this one event.


First comes the Procession of Gold. The newly won Megazomes, eighty all told this year. They march
down the main street in unison, then turn to encircle the building to park up, each adorning a faction banner and the pilots own clan banner, snapping and fluttering in the wind.


But they will not park at the front of the building. Those spaces are reserved and the pilots respect that tradition.


Their pilots and his or her date for the evening dismount, dressed in the latest fashion, dressed to party, dressed to dance. Cameras flash and drones zoom as the paparazzi vie to get the best images for the highest bidding publications.


But even these pilots, honored guests that they are, do not enter. Their place will be the second dance floor. It is theirs to call their own, or invite in who they wish. It is their party and their whim. The pace will be frantic and drinks will be from bottles because you spill less.


But they wait for the others.


Down the street, the Procession of the Green appears, forty Dreadnoughts steered by the best each faction had to offer. Perhaps not in skill, level or resources, but by those who either got a lucky posting in their Faction or who just wanted it the most. A top 5 position.


Theirs were the parks at the front of the building. Theirs would be a black tie affair in the private room.... the Green Room. Polite conversation and relaxed carousing with drinks in small glasses with a lot of ice, colour, umbrellas and olives on show. They could enter the dance floors if they so wished; that was the right that they had earned. But the Green Room was their domain, their private refuge.


But here and there, dotted among the dinner jackets and evening gowns were... the anomalies.


Dress code for these pilots had gone out of the window after Faction War 2. A bouncer had tried to enforce the dress code. Their had been.... unpleasantness. He did recover, and the pilot's clan picked up the tab for the medical bills. There were no issues at Faction War 3.


A jumpsuit, unchanged after 5 days of combat then downtime, rinsed and repeated. A baseball cap and sweat pants so threadbare and comfortable that the knees were ancient history. This year, a dressing gown and slippers. No eyebrow was raised.


Theirs was the alcove. The Emerald Alcove in the Green Room.


A suppression field kept the noise out. There were less of them this year, in the same way there were less every year. They didn't pay for drinks. It was tradition that their tab was covered by those who... no longer sat at the alcove.


Rank had no place in the alcove. Neither did relative skill levels, clan affiliation, enmities or bank balances. Only one thing mattered.


Each held an unbroken run of top five placings. Each had won five Dreadnoughts from five seperate Faction Wars. And they could dress however the hell they wanted and drink whatever the hell they wanted. Some even ordered coffee.


The party is in full swing now.


To those who also sit in the Emerald Alcove, I raise my coffee cup in salute to you.




Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Troubling Times by David McCallum #701548



I sincerely hope that one day we get to the bottom of this..... issue.


Its not often that I get annoyed, but its too much of a coincidence that every time we have a Clan War, suddenly people are getting locked out of their Facebook accounts. That annoys me.


Its not just the fact that you are locked out of the game, I've seen more than enough legitimate accounts, full of peoples posts, opinions, photos and memories.... their online "life".... become denied to them.


So that some retard  can win at a game? Maybe.


There's also perhaps the possibility that it could be the owner of a rival game, attempting to discredit or drive away GameCraftsmen'
s legitimate customers. Who knows.


The thing is, they may have picked the wrong targets. They have picked on people who play games.... war games.


We know how to deal with... situations.


Step 1, contain and mitigate the situation. Chef has this covered. It's a good job that him and his team are so adept at swapping accounts from one platform to another. At least none of our player base will suffer the loss of any of their hard work and hard earned labours. We should once again be extremely grateful that we have such a great team of developers.


Which hopefully leads on to step 2.


Hopefully Chef, as a developer of Facebook linked games, has contacts with tech support at Facebook. Hopefully they will at least be able to tell him if all the "complaints" are coming from a single person or IP address. Hey, they may even drop a name.


Step 2.... Counter measures....





Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Red Ant Empire XXV By Germán Jaramillo# 685605



















































Submitted by Germán Jaramillo# 685605

Monday, March 21, 2016

Reggie & Gygax XI By Germán Jaramillo# 685605



















































Submitted by Germán Jaramillo# 685605

Interview With FJ Bros On Game Basics 101

GG - Hello folks and welcome to the Cantina! My name is Ken, and I'm the guy buying the drinks for a chance to talk with a long time pilot FJ Bros.

FJ- Nice to have a little bit of time between faction deployments to cool down and catch up on things, maybe drink a drink beer or 18…

GG- FJ, you have an extensive amount of time in the Mecha Galaxy, what path brought you to where you are today?

FJ- Luckily, I was picked up rather early in my first month of play by the AFF. I was able to learn a lot about how to play this game from the veteran players in that large and highly decorated clan. There were good times and bad times, but very good players or different types and each had their own opinion. I listened, learned, experimented, and still do the same today. There is always something new to learn, especially from other players that are continuously growing as well. Though I have departed from the AFF with a bunch of my AFF brothers, I still have a lot of respect for the players that stayed behind and very thankful for their kindness and knowledge. In the Dragons, we focus on monthly clan events. As such, you won’t see us much in the KotM or Circuit aspects of the game.

GG- This week we've seen a lot of chatter of discontent on the boards about Division placement and performance issues.

FJ- I’ve seen this game listed under several genres: MMORPG, SCIFI, and Strategy. But this is a strategy game, you have to plan and analyze to be successful in any strategy game. There are lots of moving pieces, so as a clan, you have to be aware of what everyone is doing as well, as you maneuver your own pieces.
Unless you are just starting out in the game, we all know that the clan event placements are pretty straightforward. Based on the members in the clan, and average level of the clan members excluding a certain number of members is the clan’s average level. Anyone can calculate a clan’s average level pretty simply. Of course, the average level can be overstated if they lock early and gain some levels, so you can only be 100% certain for your own clan. During the usual clan wars, avg clan levels within a division are mostly pretty close together; however, during faction wars, there are a lot larger clans and fewer of them, so divisions can have wide margins. Either way, the placement is still the same as always: top 4 averages in Division 1, top 4 in division 2, so on and so forth. Sometimes there are 8 clan divisions, sometimes just 4 clans in the division. So other than if you fall into a 4 clan or 8 clan division, there really isn’t anything to debate about regarding placements.


As for performance issues, well, there are two aspects to that: clan composition and player composition. For clan composition, you need to design your clan to be successful at the average level of that clan. If more than half of your members can be effective at that clan level average, they should have a chance at success, if not, it will be a tough road. For simplistic example, if you have 50 members in a clan average of 50 and your clan is made up of 13 lvl 80s, 6 lvl 40s, 15 lvl 30s, and 16 lvl 20s, you should only expect your clan to be roughly 26% effective as only 13 of 50 players are above the average level of the clan. Sure the other players might be able pick up some wins, but from an overall strategic standpoint, it is set-up to be ineffective from the start. Now on the other hand, a clan that is 50 lvl 50 accts, can expect to be around 50% effective or more. Like I said, this is a very simplistic overview, but advance strategies of clan composition are not simplistic at all. You got to be able to understand who your opponents are going to be and design your composition to be effective against them.

GG- One of the things that got my attention was that some folks were having trouble understanding some of the aspects of game play and mechanics.

FJ- There are many ways to play this game, how you decide to play is up to you, but typically one aspect has consequences to the other aspects. Personally, I see roughly 3 main types of players: competitive clan oriented, casual players, and people that just like to blow things up.

The competitive clan oriented players (aka campers) focus on being effective in the clan events walking the path that steers clear of consuming XP. XP means gaining levels and usually tougher competition. These types of players are usually very active, and can usually compete against players at higher levels. The down side for these players is that you specialize in the clan events and tend not to compete in the KotMs, circuit fights or playing missions.

The casual player plays a bit of everything and XP tends not to be a concern for them. They tend to enjoy a bit of all the aspects of the game; however, they tend to be ineffective against the competitive clan oriented players in clan events.

The people that just like to blow things up… well they just like to blow things up and aren’t very concerned about competition, be it Clan Events or KotMs.
Regards of how you decide to play, have fun, but understand the consequences. Of course, you can have your cake and eat it too, but you’ll need some disposable income to keep yourself competitive.

GG- Someone recently said that M.G. was "a game of resources" and I found that very accurate. The ability to obtain and gather niodes, crystal, ferrite, and bioptics is critical to getting everything you need to being stronger. What are some of the things you've learned that could help our up and coming pilots?

FJ- Like most strategy games, you have to plan out your moves. Saving enough to get that big nasty mech, could result in it being ineffective if you don’t have the resources to level, equip and arm it properly. In this game, you have to plan in terms of months.
In regards to the resources, I’ll explain how to get each in turn.

Ferrite: You can get ferrite from fighting other players (win or lose), selling mechs, weapons, and equipment, clicking on level up posts on FB. Of course, the most useful way that most players utilizes (level 11 and above), is to purchase 5 packs of fury lasers or medium mordems and sell them. On a good weapon sale, you can convert crystals to ferrite and biotpics at loss of 1 crystal per 5 pack of weapons, outside of sales, you lose 3 crystal.

Bioptics: Same as ferrite above (except the FB level posts), but you can also get your level plus 50 bioptics from joining other player’s HGs. You can join an infinite number of HGs as long as they got room for you in their HG.

Crystals: Aside from selling crystal items, you get crystals from joining circuit fights (10 crystal entry prize), competing in circuit fights and harvesting crystal farms. Harvesting your own crystal farm, only gives you the crystals in the farm. While harvesting other player’s crystal farms will give you 1-5 crystals depending on how many crystals were in the farm. They get the crystals in there farm, and you get 1-5 crystals. In Facebook, you’ll also get the option of sending the player you harvested a Crystal Seed that you can cash in 10 per day for 5 crystals each.

Niodes: Aside from selling niode items, you can get niodes from joining circuit fights (2 niode entry prize) and by purchasing them with real world currency. In addition, there is a 3 times per day lottery that you can enter for a 10 ferrite entry fee. The lotto winner can claim 100 niodes within 24 hours of winning, and the winner’s clanmates can collect 20 niodes each after the winner claims the prize.
Each day you can use an Instant Upgrade Kit, so if used properly and daily, it is like getting 5 niodes for free on a daily basis. There is a 2x Instant Upgrade Kit, that you can get from completing quests, or if your clan wins the daily lottery for killing the most tons.
And of course there are the special events, like the recent “Lucky Clover Day” event, in which resources can be received.


GG- Another thing I see is high level players who have issues with pilots 20 levels lower.

FJ- There are many factors for this occurring. One; the lower level player just have better mechs, whether it be from spending real money, lucky in missions/raids, or from clan events. Two; the higher level player isn’t playing to the top of their level, such as using mechs that are lower tonnage than they can purchase, same goes for weapons. Three; their mechs aren’t equipped effectively. General rule of thumb is cockpit for precision, chassis for dodge, speed for engines, shields are whole other advanced debate, but my rule of thumb is niode over crystal, as the shield dmg amount is more useful at lower levels than at higher levels. And four; formation is not optimized. Placing your mechs properly in a formation is vital. Splash mechs in middle of the line, trample
shield mechs not in the first line, your best mechs in the same line, etc. There is a reason why you see players level 24-27 using the level 20 base instead of the level 24 base.

A side effect of the clan war mech prizes has been a growing disparity between the gold and silver clans and the rest. Or even between gold and rest. I am not saying that gold/silver clans shouldn’t be rewarded, but it makes it very tough to catch up if you are a new player or a bronze/plastic clan player.

GG- What other advice do you have for the troops out there?

FJ- The best advice I can offer is to find a clan that fits your play style. For example, if you are a casual player that doesn’t really care about being effective for your level, then a clan like the Dragons just isn’t for. But if you a competitive player in a clan that is continuously losing in clan wars and isn’t doing anything productive about it, like exploring new strategies and clan compositions, then a different clan is what you should be searching for. Complaining about things isn’t going to amount to much, figuring out how to do better will.
There are a lot of players out there that tend to be very loyal to their clans, but Fusion has shown that abandoning old loyalties to create a clan for a specific goal can be effective.
Also, players are willing to share information on how to improve, so feel free to ask (just ignore the trolls). On occasion, I’ll watch a replay of someone attacking me and losing and I’ll give them a few tips on how to make a more effective formation.
If you are in a small clan, make friends with other clans and pool your resources. More options will help you be more successful.
Finally, one clan leader can’t do everything, figure out a way of helping your leaders plan or providing information for your clan. Something as simple as posting your opponent’s specialists can help your clan members plan for the next round. Notice an opponent that is very strong for their level, post in your clan chat to avoid that player. Every little bit of information helps, so before you decide if your clan is doing enough for you, decide if you are doing enough for your clan.


GG- Thanks for that FJ! I'll let you get back to work as my wallet has grown a bit thin.

FJ- Yup, gotta work to live. And I am always willing to chat, as long as time permits.

<end transmission>

Submitted By:
FJ Bros
Pilot ID: 885020
Kenneth Hicks
Pilot ID: 846092

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Poetry/Silly Songs By Sean Wadey # 356597

Favorite cadence of Captain Myrmex of the Picnic Raiders Company, Wadey's Battalion, RND Corps

Sung to the tune of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"

The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five
The gateway opens to a battle ground,
And we all go marching down, on the ground, ready to fight.

The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five
The Dropship doors swing open wide,
And we all go marching down, on the ground, ready to die.

The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five
Comms are good and formation is tight,
And we all go marching down, on the ground, ready to fight.

The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five
The trampling guns chatter and spray,
And we all go marching down, on the ground, ready to die.

The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five
Galaxy eyes give our enemies a surprise,
And we all go marching down, on the ground, ready to fight.

The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five
We'll all be dead before we're through,
And we all go marching down, on the ground, ready to die.

The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five
Except McClane, he will never die,
And we all go marching down, on the ground, ready to fight.

The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five
We're off to face our destiny!

Submitted by Sean Wadey # 356597