Cold Fusion Equipment Review by David McCallum #701548

There appears to be some confusion on the subject of Cold Fusion.... and I don't want to wax poetical about it.


Yes, it is a reality, and has been for some time.


As a result, these engine systems aren't new, they have been around for a while. I got one when I got my first Boreas. They have however only just been released to the plebians on the open market.


There is also some confusion around the price. I always thought they were free. As I said, mine came alongside a Boreas and I simply assumed it was one of those promotional giveaway items, in the same way you sometimes find an Anzu at the bottom of your cereal packet. They aren't free.


So at a book price of 54 Niodes, 1951 Ferrite and 1498 Bioptics, what exactly are you getting for your hard earned lolly? And more importantly, since I much prefer the old price of 'free', are you getting fleeced?


Well, quite simply put, you are getting the best engine for a Boreas or Glaccus you can possibly have.


And if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, shoot them in the head because they are quite obviously mad.


That does about sum up the review, and there isn't really much more that needs to be said, but since my editor is a slave driver and I plan on spiking his rum with anti-freeze later on, I'd better carry on and go into some more detail.


Let's examine the engines on offer at 95 tons, because at the end of the day, it was those big ice mechs that this was always aimed at. Over a straight basic crystal engine like the Heat Cycler, and lets face it, traditionally crystal gives you better power ratio than niode, you loose absolutely none of the torques needed to shift these things.


There are a few engines with the same power output, 9 engine types that are slower and only 3 that are higher. So it is at least close to the top end of what is available speed wise.


Of the fast ones, there is the ridiculous Anzu Run that will blow up as soon as you look at it. There's the RACE which is the fastest of its class and has auto repair, definitely making it a nice engine. Or there's the Reverse Rotary which is useful in its own right.


But at the end of the day, none of them complement an ice mech in the same way the Cold Fusion does. The only real downside is that while the decision to purchase one of these should be a no brainer, there are other things that should be higher up the priority list that you need to invest in to counteract the deficiencies of the 95 ton chassis.


But since I'm a good sort generally and have had experience with using Cold Fusion for a while, here are some tips.


Watch out for heat spikes and sharp vibration. A sharp rise in heat from a flame weapon, especially if coupled with a close call from a missile blast is going to crack the containment bottle, and since they run at super cooled temperature to start off with, it is notoriously fragile.


If it does start to give, you will suddenly find yourself in the  position where your mech is coming up with new and interesting ways to transport you to China.


Oh, and you need to remember that the unfortunate reality is that your cockpit is positioned directly above this thing and as stated previously, they run very, very cold.


The net result is that you may feel as if you are riding into battle with your nethers stuck in a chest freezer.


Things will turn blue. They might fall off.


But since your dealer is stitching you up to the tune of 54 niodes, make sure the miserable sod throws in a heated seat. Trust me, it's a vital accessory.


Or at least invest in some of those thick wooly undies like your granny used to wear...

Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Pre Clan War Interview with John Wesley #220298

I bumped into my first C.O. from back when I first joined the Heroes the other day.


Once he got over the shock, stopped trying to run in the opposite direction and realised I wasn't attempting to fleece him out of anything (this time), we managed to grab a few minutes for a catch up.


GG: Things seemed to have calmed down for you since you've had to put up wth my sorry behind. Happy with the way your new crew are shaping up?


JW: Well, I have to clean less raccoon fur off of everything.  That stuff is hell on laser optics, you know?  But to answer the question, I have a terrific team, everybody is good about cross-supporting each other and continuing to build in a smart fashion.


GG: Theres a been quite a few shake ups at the top end since we spoke last. Cyberstorm disappeared and some have ended up wearing bunny ears, Fusion arrived, the Brotherhood and AFF both fractured and there's been some mergers elsewhere. Any thoughts on the whys and wherefores around that?


JW: When you get groups as big as what AFF was (what, nearly a third of the players in the game?)  you're going to get people who are unhappy with the direction the group is going or chafe under leadership and want to go their own way.

It's a natural evolution of the process and in a lot of ways I'm surprised it hadn't happened before.


GG: Do you see any of those changes filtering down to effect you guys at all, and if so, any plans to cope with it?


JW: I'd like to have possibly pursued a little harder to see if we could have added to and enhanced our talent by recruiting and gathering in folks out of the resultant chaos.  We would of course be more than willing to take a look at anyone who is unhappy with their current situation and is willing to come work with us.

Otherwise?  Just going to keep doing what we are doing and following our strategic plan.  Not broke, don't need to fix it.


GG: We've seen a lot more mech drops in the prize packs the last few wars. Good, bad, indifferent? Not just You or the clan, for the game as a whole...


JW: For me, I have added a few nice prize mechs myself.

But the drops are still exceptionally random; one of the guys in Heroes family has not gotten a mech drop out of at least the last three, not even a crystal one, where we had one who won 4 niode mecha on a 1x chance at the mechs in the last raid.

So it is nice to see the drops, but I would like there to be some way for it to be more equitable.
However,  the other edge of the sword is that while mech drops have increased,  it is much harder now to gather the resources to utilize them without having to invest heavily in purchasing of niodes.

For many of us we are not in a position to up that facet of our expenditures on the game, to upgrade we have to resort to recycling some of those prize mechs to choose what we want to try to improve.


GG: Staying with mechs, there's a fair amount of debate still going on with the really big stuff, the 95s and 100s. Have you had a chance to play with them yet and any opnions formed?


JW: I have not.  Again, due to limited resources I have not invested in any of the high-tonnage units.

From the reactions of my teammates, some of the units are good, like the Boreas, but the vast majority of the others have been underwhelming. Not worth the resources to me at this point.


GG: The war is going to run pretty close to Christmas, and the raids have every chance of running through the period. How's it going to effect your guys?


JW: I'd like to have seen the war maybe run a week earlier.  This is a game and from a meta-game standpoint, I'd much rather have seen the war a week earlier so that we could avoid the majority of the Christmas and related holidays.  We will adapt, and I think my team will be able to put in a good showing.

But I will completely understand for any of my teammates if family and holiday has to come first.


GG: Last thing, war or raid prize, whats on the Christmas wish list?


JW: In all honestly, I'd like to see the Heroes family get a niode Lotto win.  I don't think any of us across the Heroes clans have had one since the lotto went to 3x daily, and I've seen a lot of people who don't need the niodes winning multiple times.

Plus the timings of the drawings are poor timings for me personally to be able to enter.  i'd like to see the lotto go to 4 winners a day, with two winners drawn 2x a day.


GG: Pretty selfless attitude boss, but yes, I agree about the timing thing and not being able to enter every draw.

I'll let you get back to work now, best of luck and here's hoping you get something nice for yourself in the salvage haul.

Submitted by David McCallum #701548

The SNIPER RACK. Weapon Review by Germán Jaramillo, ID # 685605.

1. INTRODUCTION/HISTORY:

Released during May of 3304, this missile launcher is the pinnacle of the ballistic crystal based technology.

At the height of the raw devastating power of a T10 Tsunami launcher, this missile rack will be an objective to store into your mech weapon slots, doing a great job in your secondary Magnus, Anubis, Typhoons and Apatotrons as any other remaining Mobile battery launcher.

So, let’s proceed to our technical analysis.

. . .

. . .

2. TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

Manufacturer: Star Factories.

Quality: Highest crystal missile tech.

Damage: 85 (Highest damage rank for the crystal missile standards)

Speed: 100 (Average)

Abilities: Precision (8) (High accuracy)

Max amount that can be loaded in your squad: 50 units.

Min Level required: 135.

Cost: Ferrite: 3000; Bioptics: 2200; Crystal: 77; Bulk: 308 Crystal.

. . .

. . .

3. OPERATIVE LIFE:

Unlimited.

At the pilot level required to accede to this launcher you will have a gazillion of weapon slots to cover, if you were a heavy missile lover, you won’t refuse to use this dedicated crystal rocket factory.

. . .

. . .

4. DESCRIPTION:

A massive outer montage that may not be discrete and even vulnerable to any direct impact from enemy fire, that could affect to its operability, but on the other hand, the rack is always ready to launch a barrage of deadly missiles aimed to the critical systems of your enemy with the support of an advanced and independent guidance system that will lead each missile head towards your enemy, despite the degree of your personal accuracy.

The missile uses solid fuel for the first stages and liquid fuel for the final stage. It is designed to survive nuclear or fire explosions and indirect laser beams at a minimum range of 500m.

. . .

. . .

5. EVALUATION:

Tier IX.

Score: 7/10 (Your perfect crystal rack to cover your backfire)

As decent as a crystal weapon could be, even better in the category of the deadlier crystal missiles, you can’t forget to load your secondary tactical mechs with the sniper rack unless you were one of those rednecks from the Beta Vulcano-Alhauroth system…


Submitted by Germán Jaramillo, ID # 685605.

Eye Spy Equipment Review by David McCallum #701548

Its been a while since I've looked at any new cockpit pieces and this has been on the market for a little while now. Nothing flash, just a simple bit of affordable crystal gear.


88 Crystal, 1006 Ferrite and 1914 Bioptics gets you a precision rating of 6, the ability to slow opponents by 4 clicks but those optical lenses can't be hidden by armour plating, needing a direct line of sight. This leaves you open to a small but noticeable increase in vulnerability from incoming projectiles.


Price wise its around the same mark as any crystal cockpit piece for 100 tonners, and they are all pretty... underwhelming.  Yes, the Eye Spy has the best precision rating  of them, but it still ins't much when you look back at stuff like the Nux Raids that lighter mechs can make use of. It also doesn't have the correct precision sighting to home in on weak points for a crit kill shot.


It is however maybe the best of a bad bunch. The precision and slow are always active, unlike the boosts you get from the Neural Stabilizer and it doesn't slow an already geriatric mech down to a standstill like the Synaptic Boost. In honesty, at 100 tons you really need to be biting the bullet and shelling out some niodes.


It gets even worse if you are looking at 95 tons, where you at least have the hideously expensive Sensor Array for almost double the precision and no penalties. Even Rocking Tunes give you all pluses as you boogey on down to the battlefield.


Am I showing my age by using boogey? Probably...


The thing is again, at 95 tons you probably need to dip into the savings account and go niode, at least for some pieces, and the M-hole does everything the Eye Spy does, plus more, with no down side.


So where does this leave our little Eye stalk? Well, mainly on 100 tonners I'm afraid, but at least there it is the best of the crystal bunch.... as long as you augment it with a bit of niode goodies.



Submitted by David McCallum #701548

The Crit-Kill Club A Triple Weapon Overview By Pat Willis#224534

Today we'll be looking at the Crit-Kill club, a group of three niode laser weapons that all share the 19% Crit- Kill ability. They are the Blue Dragon, Cherenkov Ray, and the Archfiend. As far as I know at present the only way to get a hold of these besides the shop is maybe if they are offered up as CW, or raid rewards. The smallest of the three the Archfiend is available for minimum level 73 pilots and up, the Cherenkov Ray is for levels 88 and up, and finally the Blue Dragon is available for levels 107 and up.

The Archfiend does 105 damage, Cherenkov Ray is 115 damage, and the Blue Dragon is 125 damage. Both the Archfiend and the Cherenkov Ray have speeds of 102, but the Blue Dragon buries them both with 104. The only ability these weapons have is a 19% crit-kill attached to each one. Making them a very nasty trio of weapons in the hands of someone who knows how to do a mecha load out.

With the equipment pieces out there offering up bonuses to crit-hits, and laser damage bonuses on top of already nasty build stats these three lasers are set to rule for a good long time over many future battles. You could realistically have over 30% to crit-kills once all is said and done and what 84% or a little higher for laser damage alone? These pack a decent amount of bang for the buck and shouldn't be passed by anyone who is serious about their mecha combat.


Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Big Bang Weapon Review by David McCallum #701548

I admit I'm not the greatest fan of limited run weapons that are available to the lower level pilots. It always feels as if the niodes could be spent better in other areas to give them a better grounding for the future.


In saying that, if money is no object or even if you just fancy giving yourself an early Christmas present, a bag of these could go down a treat.


First off, book value is 31 niodes, 490 ferrite and 400 bioptics, or 124 niodes for a bucket of 5. Pricewise that brings it in around the same as the venerable Galaxy Eye which is a level 31 weapon.


The impressive thing though is the level the Big Bang is available at. Before level 20, there isn't a huge amount of separation between crystal and niode weaponry. Its around here that you start getting the niode weapons pulling away in terms of pure damage output. However those on offer at present are those ever popular offerings of the Panther Wheel (admittedly the fastest weapon out there) and the Injection Beam, with a whole truckload of doubling damage. But raw damage definately goes the way of the Big Bang.


In fact in terms of damage, you need to at least double your level, in fact almost triple it before you hit common crystal weapons with the same output. If you don't go on a rage filled kill fremzy, these weapons should stand you in good stead for a good few months.


One final note. If the manufacturers are doing a limited run on weapons with x2 and x3 damage multipliers built in, are we going to see low to mid range gear add in the new X 1.5 overcharged shots to give the little fellers a chance at the fabled X9 output of the Fext?


Maybe something to have a gamble on...

Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Crossfire The Fext By Pat Willis#224534

I had been going back and forth with myself about getting a Fext, mainly because the Apatotron, and Typhoon were so limited and slow even with a full equipment load out. But I also knew I needed some bigger guns to stay competitive in tournaments, circuit fights, and of course Clan or Faction wars. I had owned a Apatotron in the past and found its niode weapons to be of more value than the mecha itself. So I stripped it out and sold it off. I still have a Typhoon serving in my squad, but due to its speed and weapon load out, it only handles cover fire from the rear ranks.

I had pretty much decided against getting one until I talked to my recruiter for the Brotherhood, Clan leader, and friend KiloToneRecoil. He sat me down and described how he and the tech heads had worked out a build that would enable the mecha to fight on par with other combatants in the field, and not just sit there like a target as the other two so often do. The build itself would take a small fortune in niodes to pull off, and would have to be done in increments, but the end game and pay off would be worth it. The build is confidential so I can not share the ins and outs of it here, but suffice to say this conversation changed my mind entirely.

The next day I had purchased a Fext and was starting to learn all about my new mecha. I plugged myself into the neural interface, and was met by a shimmering digital representation of my mecha in its A.I. consciousness.

"Greetings Brother pilot, I am Crossfire your personal mobile battle platform. What can I assist you in learning about me today?" He cheerily greeted me.

"Oh hell no.." I replied, I immediately unplugged myself and got some techs on the line. I had them bring down Frozen Dream my Frigis, and Jabberwocky my Regis from the main hangers to the maintenance docks. Once they arrived I had the techs all interconnect the three mecha consciousnesses. Dream and Wocky both had hybrid Actual Intelligence programs with advanced probability detection, and nearly unlimited learning potential, whereas Crossfire had a standard issue battle A.I. from the company that was just way to happy, and upbeat for my liking.

I plugged into the primary interface from the maintenance console to once again join my  mind with the three machines. I was this time within a Brotherhood server which was programmed to work and act like a standard hanger/repair bay. Anything you could do in the physical world you could do to its digital counterpart here.

Wocky and Dream had been with me long enough to know to wait and see what would be required of them, meanwhile Crossfire walked right up and started in.

"Brother pilot, excuse me please but what are these other battle platforms doing here? Are they to assist us in some way? Or is this some kind of initiation within the Brotherhood between mechas? Oh I do so hope it is an initiation! I have always wanted one of those!"

I just looked over to Dream and Wocky and said, "Do you see the problem?"

Wocky shook her head and snorted in disgust, while Dream just glared at the heavier mecha. They both started to move towards him at the same time.

"Oh are we starting now? Okay, Okay, wow what are the rules here? Will I get a clan emblem when this is over? Will this make me the point mecha of the..."

He was cut short as dream stepped behind him, and Wocky started him down in the front. They both raised their arms out and to the sides as a shining blue dome began to encompass the three mecha. Intelligence programs collided like lightning across the sphere, sparks danced through the air where they met. Eventually the light show died down and I saw Wocky, and Dream start to breakdown in reolution before flowing into Crossfire. When this happened he glowed a brilliant neon blue before Wocky, and Dream reformed once again.

The two then backed away from Crossfire, Wocky addressed me in passing letting me know the job was done. I grinned to myself and disconnected us all from the server. I had Wocky and Dream returned to their usual hangers, and plugged myself directly back into Crossfire.

Once again I was met by the digital representation of the Fext. I wanted to see just how well my advanced mecha did with this machine so I said, "Status?"

"ONLINE", was the deep booming voice with a clear note of more than a little menace to it.

"Objective?" I asked.

DESTROY WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE ALL NON BROTHERHOOD PERSONNEL", he answered.

Oh yeah this will do just fine, this is a mecha I can work with, such an improvement.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Red Ant Empire X. By Germán Jaramillo ID # 685605.

Submitted By Germán Jaramillo ID # 685605.

Mecha Spotlight : Aurora by David McCallum #701548

You hear about those old classics that sit in the barn for years on end, neglected, perhaps past their prime but with a little bit of spit and polish, beauty just waiting to be brought back to the surface.


We all have clan mates that are in a sort of similair position; that mech sitting at the back of the hanger gathering dust, too nice to sell but not important enough to use,  missing that vital component, its "round tuit."


They want to do something with it, but really need to get a round tuit...


That was my Smilodon. I know where I picked her up... she was a prize for the gold we won during the Rise of the Specialists. I'd sold the previous gold medal mech I won and deeply regretted it. I just couldn't part with this one. But she seemed just a little too light and a little too expensive... the niodes were needed elsewhere. So she sat.


It must have been a good 6 months before I dusted here off... more even. The line was heavier but a hole needed filling and I finally had a little spare resource. God I wished I'd done it sooner.


Finally named the 'Aurora' (because that's a pretty golden name), she slotted in to fill the final gap in a new line of light skirmishers at the front. And started to earn her position many times over straight away.


Equipment was easy... as the lightest in the line she had the run of surplus equipment, and every spare set of Enhanced Senses that were a staple in silver medal prize packs went into the cockpit. Solderbots, Fast Data Switches and Pneumatic Shocks were dropped into the cramped chassis. Even though I had a surfeit of spare engines for that tonnage range, there was no messing about... pure speed, pure crystal, pure Pebble Bed Reactors. Oh, I did retrofit a pair of Quad Turbo drives down the track when I got some, but that was later after kitty was already purring.


Shields were the big problem (being decidedly lacking on a Smilo), but the freebie of a Light Bringer while not giving Gamma Grade shielding at least didn't leave a gaping hole.


Armament was dead easy. She got Galaxy Eyes all the way. But I'm guessing for those veteran Smilodon pilots out there, that's not coming as a great surprise.


I know that a lot of pilots feel a big wrench when they finally have to retire a Smilodon, and truth to tell, I probably kept the Aurora in the battle line longer than I should. I just didn't have anything that could compare with the kill power until I managed to salvage a Nakshi, but even then it didn't quite have the same killing power. It did make up for it in staying power though. Swings and roundabouts.


She's not retired though... only transferred. You see, I'm in the unenviable position of being eligible for a specialist slot a lot of the time. When I do, the big toys get put away and my cruiser mechs take the field. Aurora leads the squadron from the first rank.


It seems fitting that the mech I won in the first specialist war now leads my specialist formation, breaking hearts and mechs as she goes.


But don't worry... if you get hurt, she may just sing you a song...


"Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty,
Little ball of FLAMING MEGA DEATH DIE DIE DIE!!!"



Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Regi & Gygax - II. By Germán Jaramillo ID # 685605.

Submitted By Germán Jaramillo ID # 685605.

The Switch Fairy Cometh... by David McCallum #701548

I'm imagining conversations between pilots and their techs all over Mecha Galaxy...


Hey boss, erm, I just found a switch on this Krampus.


What does it do?

Dunno, never seen it before...


Just on that one?


Hang on... no, they all have it.


And you've never seen it before...


No.


And how many times have you serviced or rebuilt a Krampus?


erm... thousands... and I swear, it wasn't here yesterday.


So you are telling me the switch fairy came in the middle of the night and screwed with my mechs? You'd better trace the circuit back then...


Doing that just now... seems to feed back through fire control and into the power plant. I'd say its a damage booster.


So you are telling me that for all these years, I could have been getting hot shots from my Krampus, and you never told me?!?!


* * * * *


Well, its one way to handle the retcon of the latest upgrade to an old favourite. And yes, I'm being a bit facetious... only slightly though.


From a narrative point of view, "discovering" that mechs that topped out at a specific level can now be upgraded past that is one thing, but changing stuff lower down does seem a bit comic book. Next you'll be telling me we don't really die when our mechs get blown up.


Should we have had a Krampus mk II hit the showroom floor? Or maybe a Krampus only after market upgrade, where for a few crystal we can update it to the latest model. How do you tell the difference between the mk I and mk II... different shaped headlights?


Perhaps more worrying, why are all those Namtar, Oggun and Buchis pilots standing round with their arms folded and tapping their feet expectantly?



Submitted by David McCallum #701548