The Hambaba Who Cares An Editorial By Pat Willis#224534

Well folks there it is the 100 ton missile thrower the Hambaba. It costs a staggering 23,000 Ferrite, 18,000 Bioptics, and a whopping 150 Niodes. All for purchasing a solid thrower of the slowest weapons in the game.

Now if we take the example from the game page to level it to it's greatest potential, well first you have to be past level 200, and secondly I hope you're independently wealthy, cause minus sales this is going to take about 600 Niodes just in level cost to get up to speed.

Now it has been pointed out that this mecha has the most slots and weapon holding capability yet. However let's just think about this for a moment, 79 slots for weapons. How effective do you think that may be given all the limitations on available weapons for the higher levels? 8,7,7,5 is the slot numbers for equipment, just how many niodes beyond the 600 spent to level it up to over level 200 to get its full bonuses do you want to spend?

But it has so much potential Pat why can't you see that? Well actually I can but only if you get it up to giving you the mechas full stats to play with. Otherwise this is pretty much a niode sink hole. Especially seeing as the only missiles really worth a damn for speed in this game are niode based.

Also don't we have enough missile boats as is? 75 Tons has the Rook, 80 has the Ballista, 90 doesn't have missile specific but many mechas like the Torrent can use them to great advantage, and at 95 Tons we have the Anubis, and a 100 ton Crystal missile thrower the Typhoon. So just from 75 tons on up we certainly have plenty of choices, why give us this....no other word for it...mess?

Normally I'm happy and somewhat excited to see a new mecha come out, especially when I get my own and start unlocking what it can do. But this, well I'm going to give it an all around pass. I have to many niode mechas, with niode gear, and weapons to even want to consider the price tag that would come with this thing fully loaded. This to me is a case of, "No matter how you polish it a turd is still a turd."

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Random Madness By Sgt. Ron Frye#879655

Submitted by Sgt. Ron Frye#879655

Pyro's Flare Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

Available to pilots of level 30 or above, with 300 initially released. One cost you 620 Ferrite, 430 Bioptics, and 35 Niodes. Bulk buy was also an option here with 5 for 140 Niodes, no restrictions or limitations to be found. It has a straight damage of 62, a speed of 103, and the abilities of Burn at 9%, and 2X Damage at 3%.

This is a significant damage jump for those willing to buy it. As is the Scorcher at level 29 only does 28 damage, at 102 speed, and has a burn at 2%. But as many may note it is a crystal weapon as opposed to this newly released niode based one. As we all know crystal weapons and equipment can be tough, but they rarely beat out niode based weapons or equipment. Hook this bad boy up to your favorite flame based mecha and roast some hostiles.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Money Matters by David McCallum #701548

So, Kenneth has finally gone mad.


The first sign was his declaration that he was going off to play squash. Now bearing in mind his usual sum total of exercise is the hundred yard skive, that little gem came as a bit of a surprise.


Not as much of a surprise however as his sports gear was, which consisted of yellow tartan golfing pants, a pink feather boa and a saw-tooth machete.


There are certain things a chap does not wish to see before he's drunk, and others that he is really glad he isn't seeing during said pastime.


The good news is that we can't inflict any video evidence of this behavior on the general populace; for some reason videos have a habit of becoming non-existent in Kenneth's presence.


I do however have an insight into why he has taken a high dive into an extremely shallow bowl of custard.


Kenneth can't cope with the new sales format of individual categories.


And to be honest I don't blame him, because lately I'd rather do income tax returns than try and work out my niode budget with these new singular item sales.


I shall explain.


Lets forget for a moment the higher tier of spending player, since the rest of us poor folk simply imagine that they buy what they need when they need. They may not, but a gentleman doesn't ask others about their finances.


No, we are going to consider the rest of us who have to scrimp, save and melt down prizes to make budget. And when it comes to spending that meager budget we have two main ways of planning.


The first is to select one mech and completely trick it out into an uber mech of biblical proportions. This is where those massively expensive build plans come in.


Of course there is a downside to this, in that all your eggs are in one or a few baskets, and  your mega mech can always be taken out by an unlucky critical. Even if that isn't the case, the other weak mechs in the same line can be taken out easier meaning you loose line coherency and start getting overpowered as an enemy has numerical supremacy in both mechs and the amount of shots they throw at you.


In terms of spending (says he pulling the conversation back on topic) it does mean that if you haven't finished outfitting an uber mech, you need to make a hard decision of whether to take advantage of a sale and start a new mech being upgraded or hold out for sales on the items you still need.


The other method of course is to spread the wealth and items a piece at a time around every mech in your formation. Relative strength is kept with no intrinsically weak spots, but of course you don't get anything earth shattering until after a huge amount of time and expenditure.


The problem with this method is that when an individual category sale comes up, you need to check every mech in your line to see where the weak points are, provided of course they are in that category, which they might not be, but you need to check anyway.


Then again in your specialist formation if you are regularly performing that duty.


Then for the all the rest of the specialist formations because chances are you are weak in at least two or three of those, and you want to maximise your offensive points in the next war (please read 'get even with the annoying goit you haven't been able to take yet...').


It's around this point that you wish you'd kept track of your mech load-outs in a spreadsheet, and/or wish there was a way you could easily export the info from all of your squadrons into one.


At the point where you reach for a spreadsheet, please see above for my comment on 'rather be doing my tax returns'.


Or just commit sepuku using a tea spoon, whichever is less painful.


 The point is, I don't blame Kenneth for having a funny turn.


I Just need to remember that next time I can take still photos of his outfit and there's always a handful of niodes to be made in blackmail.


But I draw the line at taking photos of him in that tooth fairy costume...

 Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Frozen Dream Build Update By Pat Willis #224534

When last we looked at my build for my Frigis Mecha Frozen Dream, he was at level 108. That build as well as accompanying stats can be found here . I have made some modifications since then to try and keep him more viable for the upper levels since I am now level 115.

 Let's be truthful though there is only so much an 80 ton Frigis can do when facing a enemy line worth of Fext mechas.  This build however has some advantages over its predecessor I feel and given the tweaks made, it gets an updated entry. So here we go.

Both models employ 4 Hawkeye M.M. for the cockpit. For the Precision, Crit-Kill, Laser and Missile damage boosts. (Just because it's a mainly laser mecha with a secondary ice capability doesn't mean you can't add a few surprises.)

For the Chassis I went down to only two  Coolant Systems, added in 2 Wheeled Feet, and kept in 3 Muon Junctions. Again going for a bit of a surprise. While the Hawkeye boosts Laser, and  the Coolant Boosts Ice it also adds in Fire. So really this build is more about giving yourself options.

The Engines were over hauled pretty much entirely to all Indefinite Singularities across the 4 slots. Not only for speed but also for the 2X Damage boost. And shielding stayed as it was.

But now at Level 115 the stats prior to equipment are.
Tons: 80

Level: 115
Armor: 1126
Class: Frigis
Bonuses before
equipment:
Precision (30)
Speed - 15
Ice Vulnerable 10%
Freeze 58%
Speed + 25
Laser Damage + 46%
Ice Damage + 44%
3X Damage 10%
2X Damage 8%
Shield (40)

And now with level and equipment boosts factored in he sits with.
Level: 115 / 115
Armor: 1126

Ice Damage + 64%
Missile Damage + 28%
Laser Damage + 86%
Fire Damage + 20%
Speed + 70
2X Damage 20%
3X Damage 10%
Fork 18%
Crit-Kill 8%
Dodge (66)
Freeze 90%
Precision (74)
Shield (156)
Ice Shield 8%
Fire Shield 29%
Fire Shield (40)
Proj. Shield 29%
Laser Shield 29%
Missile Vulnerable 9%

Now on to the weapons, 35 in all. Most of the old weapon systems got relocated to other mechas and I tried to center in a few unexpected surprises. I installed 5 Frigis Dream Ice weapons, 5 Man O' War Rays, 1 Twin Grazer I had lying around, 1Kojin Stove, 1 Birthday Fist, 4 Tinsel EMP, 1 Triple Matrix, 1 Ammo Cookoff, 3 Chimera, 5 Helios Forge, 5 Winter's Grasp, 2 Northwind Eradicator Lasers (still got em from the NW/CS wars.), and finally 1 King Cobra Laser.

 So there you have it folks a Frigis that got me where I am today, and what it looks like now both inside and out. I do these pieces so folks can see there are some in the game who aren't afraid to show their builds for good or bad. What's the worst that can happen? Someone builds your load out to fight you? Oh no, not like you can't change it up and out in a short period of time. Also on the flip side you may get feedback to help improve on your already existing build. So what I am saying here folks is basically, stop being scared, show off the builds, get feedback, see what happens. Until next time both Frozen Dream and myself wish you happy hunting.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Spitfire Mecha Review Update By Pat Willis#224534

First off the pertinent information.

 Price - 8,000 Ferrite, 7,000 Bioptics, 125 Niodes.

Tonnage -70
Armor points- 165
Start weapons - 8
Minimum level - 41
Minimum heavy skill - 25
Levels/Weapons - 4
Showroom floor weapon load out - 2 Spitfire Racks, 1 T11 Berserker, 1 Plutocracy, 2 Wrecker Shots, and 2 Death Heads.

*Note upgrade cost for one of these is 533 Ferrite, 466 Bioptics, and 3 niodes per level.

Now with that out of the way please note like most of my reviews I'll be basing it on what I have in my hanger. At present mine is a level 115. So mileage may vary depending on where yours is, level wise if you have one.

I'm looking at 5 cockpit slots, 5 chassis, 4 engine, and 4 shield slots at present with 36 weapon slots. It looks promising on equipment set up, got to say so far it reminds me of the Frigis and how it leveled up. If the conjecture on my behalf is right well then this will be fun and affordable to equip. After all it's a 70 ton mecha, the equipment pieces available in that tonnage range no matter crystal or niode are pretty decent.

This mecha has bonuses to missile damage, x 1.5 damage modifier, projectile damage bonus, ice as well as fire damage bonuses, the Fork ability, and its own basic shield. Granted the fire and Ice damage bonuses are minimal but to even see them on a gun and missile mecha, is impressive. The 1.5X damage is interesting. Looks like someone was paying attention to how the Fext did some massive damage, scaled down what they could, and installed it here.

Overall its a pretty solid mecha. From what I am seeing so far it seems to be able to hold its own. Equipment looks like it will give you room for playing around to possibly tweak your fire and ice damage. Weaponry is solid even with no augmentation on its primary weapons of projectile and missile. Although I imagine most pilots will change out the weapons and fiddle with different configurations. Go for it, looks like this model was made for fiddling.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Tundris Fantasy Mecha Take Two By Pat Willis#224534

Recommended retail price.
22,000 Ferrite
18,000 Bioptics
135 Niodes.

The Tundris is a 100 Ton mecha designed by the Brotherhood and manufactured on Garhan station by the J&K Distribution team of Johnathan Judas and Kellek (The Niodemancer, and the Forerunner construct who thinks he is a Forerunner.)  It was virtually made to order given it is based on many improvement notes from the clans Ice specialists (Cryomancers) and advancements in larger mecha technologies.

At the heart of this mecha is a Frigis base so the skeletal system is still forged from multi layered Titanium interwoven with Ferronite, folded and refolded many times in the style of Old Earth Damascus steel. The main difference there is that it then gets an additional exoskeleton armor package to make up the difference and bring it up from the 80 Ton range into the 100 Ton range.

 This upgrade package includes - state of the art reinforced ferrite weave for the cockpit, with extended multi directional sensors across the mecha to alert you to incoming danger from all directions. It is equipped with redundant niobium nerve bundles to give it a slight speed boost for so heavy a mecha. This also increases pilot to mecha reaction time in the heat of combat. The targeting system has been overhauled from the Frigis design to feature optical overlay pinpoint targeting as opposed to the more traditional H.U.D. system so common in other mechas.

At the heart of this upgrade is the Perpetual Singularity engine. There are four chambers deep within the Tundris core that create minuscule singularities in directional opposition from one another. Much like the Frigis and its reverse niode polarization burst. But this engine harnesses the intense energies of the singularities trying to feed off of each other and redirects them to where they are needed most.

The exterior of the mecha is a dense mixture of ferronite and mirrored ceramic overlay which allows it to absorb all but the most devastating of hits with barely a notice. Modifications exist within the armor add-on to pull more power from the mechas systems and divert them to weapons when needed. It has state of the art niobium actuators at the joints also allowing for better reaction time in so heavy a mecha.

The shoulder area of this mecha is much more pronounced than that of the Frigis. It houses triple cryogenic gas vents which super cool the atmosphere around the mecha, and drawing said air into the mecha itself. It adds these super cooled gases to its freeze mixture (affectionately called slush by its creators), to then be mixed with both chemical and liquid solutions inside the arm cannon housing. When the mixture is fired it works much like a projectile, but what is coming out is all absolute zero ordinance.

The arms of this mecha are much more blunted than its little brother the Frigis. This is so the arms when firing can build up more momentum to their ammo. The angled ends of the arms allow for a buildup and release of excessive gasses from the intake vents to be added for propulsion when fired allowing the shot to reach sonic velocity. This helps the Tundris to slow, and freeze most mechas without much more than a couple of shots. These weapon arms, as well as the shoulder vents use a great deal of power as there is so much going on with them at once it becomes obvious why the Perpetual Singularity Engine was chosen to power this beast.

Recommended start weapons.
2 Winter's Grasp, 2 Frigis dream, 2 Wendigo, 3 Glace, 1 Burning Ice, 5 Gorgon


Tonnage     100
Armor Points     280
Start Weapons     15
Min Level     98
Min Heavy Skill 75
Levels/Weapon     6
Manufacturer     J&K Distributors.

 Build     Ice Damage + 9%
Build     Speed - 26
Build     3X Damage 2%
Build     Shield (5)
Build     Missile Shield 5%
Level 2     + 1 Cockpit Slot
Level 3     + 1 Weapon Slot
Level 4     Fork Shield 5%
Level 5     + 1 Shield Slot
Level 6
+ every 3 levels     + 1 Weapon Slot
Level 7     + 1 Chassis Slot
Level 8     Laser Shield 5%
Level 8     Ice Damage + 4%
Level 10     + 1 Engine Slot
Level 11     Ice Damage + 6%
Level 13     Missile Shield (6)
Level 13     Missile Shield 5%
Level 14     Speed + 5
Level 16     Fork Shield 10%
Level 18     + 1 Cockpit Slot
Level 19     Ice Shield 5%
Level 22     Ice Damage + 6%
Level 23     + 1 Chassis Slot
Level 24     2X Damage 4%
Level 25     Speed + 5
Level 26     + 1 Shield Slot
Level 28     Fire Shield (5)
Level 29     Laser Shield 5%
Level 29     Proj. Vulnerable 2%
Level 31     + 1 Engine Slot
Level 32     Ice Damage + 5%
Level 34     Ice Shield 5%
Level 35     Missile Shield 10%
Level 37     Fork Shield 15%
Level 38     Ice Damage + 6%
Level 40     + 1 Chassis Slot
Level 41     Speed + 5
Level 43     Missile Shield (6)
Level 44     + 1 Cockpit Slot
Level 45     3X Damage 5%
Level 46     Fire Shield (10)
Level 47     Splash 5%
Level 49     2X Damage 4%
Level 50     Precision (5)
Level 50     Ice Damage + 10%
Level 50     + 1 Shield Slot
Level 50     Dodge (5)
Level 52     Speed + 5
Level 55     Laser Shield 5%
Level 56     + 1 Engine Slot
Level 58     Missile Shield 10%
Level 61     Ice Damage + 10%
Level 62     + 1 Chassis Slot
Level 63     Ice Shield 5%
Level 65     + 1 Cockpit Slot
Level 66     Speed + 5
Level 68     Missile Shield (6)
Level 72     Ice Damage + 10%
Level 73     Fire Shield (10)
Level 75     + 1 Engine Slot
Level 77     Splash 10%
Level 79     3X Damage 5%
Level 81     + 1 Shield Slot
Level 83     Ice Damage + 4%
Level 86     Wide Fork Shield 10%
Level 88     + 1 Chassis Slot
Level 89     Speed + 5
Level 91     Missile Shield (6)
Level 94     + 1 Cockpit Slot
Level 95     Proj. Vulnerable 2%
Level 95     Shield (10)
Level 97     Ice Damage + 4%
Level 98     + 1 Engine Slot
Level 100     Precision (7)
Level 100     Splash 5%
Level 104     3X Damage 5%
Level 106     + 1 Cockpit Slot
Level 109     Wide Fork Shield 10%
Level 112     Speed + 3
Level 116     Missile Shield 10%
Level 118     Ice Damage + 10%
Level 121     + 1 Chassis Slot
Level 124     Shield (10)
Level 128     Splash 10%
Level 130     + 1 Cockpit Slot
Level 133     2X Damage 6%
Level 137     Fire Shield (10)
Level 141     + 1 Engine Slot
Level 143     Missile Shield 5%
Level 148     Precision (8)
Level 152     Ice Damage + 4%
Level 154     + 1 Shield Slot
Level 157     Ice Shield 10%
Level 163     + 1 Chassis Slot
Level 166     Splash 5%
Level 175     Laser Shield 10%
Level 175     Proj. Vulnerable 2%
Level 178     + 1 Cockpit Slot
Level 182     3X Damage 5%
Level 185     Fire Shield (5)
Level 190     Wide Fork Shield 10%

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Sideways The Novum Mecha Spotlight By Pat Willis#224534

Like most I obtained my flying mecha from the mission Zone it shares its name with, Novum. Its a slick, swooped back design, sporting more dodge ability than thought previously possible. Normally I would sell off a low tonnage mech, but something about this one made me keep it. As far as I know these are still available on the mission zone Novum Dolorum. Bosses completed or not, it is a mission drop, a very rare mission drop, but a drop all the same.

So I kept this little speed demon and noticed right off she wasn't crystalline based like the Jadoon, this puppy is a niode mecha. As such she is three niodes per level for leveling cost. That isn't too bad if you are a niode heavy player, use your one a day level gifts (that takes forever at the rate of one a day.), or frequent the missions zones which reset often now for mini boss fights to save up niodes for leveling. So there are ways to level it in game without having to spend a dime, unless that is your preferred route in which case more power to you.

The Novum is a 25 Ton flying niode mecha with real simple basic abilities before  installing equipment. Right now mine is at level 57 and slowly being upgraded, I am at level 95, so its before equipment bonuses are as  follows- Speed + 44, Dodge (24), Missile Vulnerable 30%, Laser Damage + 9%, 3X Damage 14% . As with the Jadoon it shares a missile vulnerability, but this is at a higher percentage rate than the Jadoon. It is simply smaller and packs less armor so whatever can hurt a Jadoon, will really hurt these Novum as they share the same basic design body wise.

As it is a smaller lighter mecha thus far it has only 2 cockpit slots which I have filled with FOF Targeting systems granting it a precision bonus, x2 Damage, Missile and Projectile weapon damage upgrades to a small percent. The chassis is made up of 2 Hip actuators for a dodge of (12) per, and one spinal bracing for another dodge of (12). I have 2 engine slots which I put Cogwerk Micro Blocks in for a speed of +25 and and auto repair of (1) per engine. Also it has 1 shield slot which I filled with a Crabworth Alpha for a missile shield of 44%, but I gain an ice vulnerability of 12%. Honestly that doesn't overly concern me as most ice weapons can't fire as fast as this thing can move, and dodge. See what I mean below....

All told with equipment her stats become......
Level: 57 / 94
Armor: 131
Laser Damage + 9%
Missile Damage + 20%
Proj. Damage + 8%
Speed + 94
3X Damage 14%
2X Damage 12%
Dodge (60)
Precision (10)
Auto Repair (2)
Shield (6)
Missile Shield 14%
Ice Vulnerable 12%
Class: Novum
Weapons: 16

Nothing ground breaking I know but hey she is fast and can dodge like crazy, precision needs work but again this is only level 57, working with what I had stored away in my hanger.

The weapon systems are simple with 2 Rage Pulsars with 95 straight damage and crit-kill abilities, 3 H.Blast Plates to take advantage of the projectile bonus with 63 straight damage and the small chance for trample, 2 57AM missile launchers for 96 straight damage with a small percentage chance for Splash ability, and finally 9 Heat Lasers with straight damage of 60, and a small percentage chance at x2 damage.

All in all this is a fine mecha. It's fast, its small, and maneuverable. Light armor but built for speed and dodging at high velocity, and able to pack a punch to boot. So I have to say I'm thus far impressed by the outcome. Somethings could be improved on yes, but this is a work in progress and will likely change a few times before I settle on a configuration. But for now that's how she stands for better or worse.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Cryomancer Fire And Ice KOTM Configuration Mecha Spotlight By Pat Willis#224534

This particular Boreas build is at 108, and leans heavily on the ice side of the weapons configuration. As always there is room for improvement but that is what this game is all about, constantly evolving and getting better.. So first off basic stats just from levels and build with no equipment are as follows...

Tons: 95

Level: 108
Armor: 1337
Class: Boreas

Bonuses before
equipment:
Ice Damage + 100%
Speed - 24
Speed + 24
Precision (51)
3X Damage 18%
Slow (20)
Trample Shield 50%
Splash Shield 25%
Laser Shield 40%
Wide Fork 4%

To bring those stats up I had 6 Cockpit slots, 6 Chassis slots, 6 Engine slots, and 5 shield slots to fill. A lot of equipment and weapons on this mecha are niode yes, but this is a specific build for a specific KOTM so I ramped it up as much as possible. The cockpit slots all got filled in with Haptic Interface, for the 13 precision, added Crit-Kill, and Trample bonuses. The Chassis like so many of my builds are all Muon Junctions. What can I say a Fork of 6%, dodge of 10, and added freeze of 6% is just a good combo. R.A.C.E. Engines went into its slots for speed of 10, an added 1 to dodge, and auto repair capabilities of 1 per piece. The projectile bonus gets utilized a little but as I said this is mainly an elemental build. The shielding slots are not maxed out no, but what I do have is 1 Lightning shield,1 Thiokol Delta, 1 Caudata Delta, and 1Arctic Delta.

Once all that is installed it bring the mechas total stats up to.....

Level: 108 / 108
Armor: 1337

Proj. Damage + 24%
Ice Damage + 100%
Speed + 60
Fork 36%
Wide Fork 4%
3X Damage 18%
Trample 18%
Crit-Kill 12%
Slow (20)
Precision (129)
Freeze 36%
Dodge (66)
Auto Repair (6)
Shield (112)
Splash Shield 25%
Trample Shield 65%
Laser Shield 40%
Missile Shield 38%
Ice Shield 19%
Proj. Shield 29%
Fire Shield 52%
Proj. Shield (30)

Class: Boreas
Weapons: 46

Now those 46 weapon slots were a total pain in the exhaust vent to fill but I took pretty much all the big Ice weapons I had and split them up between this model and its two brother models. This configuration focuses on speed with its lesser damage Ice weapons, and high damage weapons to cash in on the mecha bonuses mainly the +100% Ice damage bonus.

I put in 7 Wendigo, 8 Flash Freeze, 4 Burning Ice, 3 Polar Vortex, 5 Winter's Grasp, 6 Skuliaq, 6 Khron, 4 Arbitrator, 1 Glace,and 2 Creeping Chill. So as I did apply the damage bonus for projectiles weapons with the Arbitrator I focused mainly on the ice weapons. I figure for a 95 ton mecha the speed isn't bad at all, couple that with the precision and faster ice weapons before the slower heavier damage weapons kick in, and it's kind of a monster on the field.

Now of course a high percentage crit-kill mecha with crit-kill weapons will take it out, then again such will take out even the heaviest and toughest of mecha no matter what you put on it. With that said this build for Cryomancer is perfect for fire and ice tourneys with the build bonus to weapons as well as tourney bonus to the same and this is one fairly solid mecha.

So here you have it, a mecha with very high precision, decent speed, auto repair which helps in a pinch, huge ice weapon damage bonuses, and fairly stable shielding perfect for your elemental weapon damage tourneys. I do these little spotlights just to show where my head is at on a certain build. I know folks read them as I can see the site stats for each article, I just hope it helps out those trying to figure out how to set up a mecha. My way is not the only way obviously, and yes some of my builds carry obvious flaws, but hey at least you get an idea of what's behind the hanger doors.














Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

My Life is Over... by David McCallum #701548

How many times have we as older beings heard this from the young?


Usually coupled with the immortal lines, "You just don't understand!"


Now as a member of the officer corps, there are rare occasions (on account of me generally trying my best to avoid such responsibility or accountability) when I actually have to enforce discipline and order among the rank and file.


Horrible unwashed mob of heathens that they are.


This applies to one of my very junior pilots, who could also be best described as a smell consisting of noise.


Generally an affable and easy going chap (even if he does at times have problems breathing and walking at the same time), things have been known to come to a head when such subjects as 'keeping ones bunk area tidy' and 'adhering to the washing up roster' are concerned.


A number of duty derelictions in said areas, coupled with 'insubordination', 'conduct unbecoming' and 'generally being a frakking drama queen and using up precious oxygen that I may wish to breath' had managed to earn an indefinite revocation of his mech-jock licence and a lock being put on his A.I.


His behind had been so grounded, you would swear his legs had been cut off.


He did eventually regain an operational status, and clambered back into the cockpit with all the experience and wisdom of the level 12 (going on 200) pilot he is, eager to get back to his duty, guard the Mecha Galaxy and head off to the Vupa gateway to generally cause mayhem and prod buttock.

Which despite him having served a tour of duty on Cogwerk was now locked to him due to a gate reset having occurred during his 'down time'.


We shut off the general comm channels to protect those un-involved from the ensuing wailing and gnashing of teeth.


So a quick about face and off he trooped with his 9 mech squadron in the general direction of the Cogwerk Gate.


Which was also locked due to him only having served a single tour there.


A wobbly of epic proportion now ensued.


While we have no way of measuring the actual scale of said wobbly, I would tentatively place it between the wobbly thrown by Patrick on the one occasion he accidentally found himself to be sober and the Great Rain Wobbly (I had to use capitol letters there because it really was a good one...) thrown by one General John Fuller when the weather on planet was so inclement that he found he was unable to go fishing, and then discovered that the same bad weather had also delayed our supply shipment, meaning we had run out of coffee.


The Great Rain Wobbly is the reason why all Heroes personnel are now trained in the use of cattle prods, a preservation measure we are all extremely thankful for Colonel Toenjes implementing.


But I digress....


So having finally calmed down (and headed off in the direction of the Pirate Moon), I was under the impression that I would be able to get on with something more useful, like playing with my Notos or working out new and inventive ways to wind Kenneth up, when a call comes in.


This is now Mr. Super Pilot's fourth tour over at the Pirate Moon and the natives have learned from their mistakes and have worked out how to deal with him a bit better. And his Universe beating formation of Nerio, Trooper and Orcus have run into a problem... actually three problems, consisting of a Warhorse, Shocklite and one of those fat Anzu things piloted by Kilgore's minions. And when I say 'run into', I should have expanded on this and added the 'fourteen times'.


How dare they use auto-repair...


So the title credits rolled, I grabbed the pop-corn and settled down to watch the show.


Life over? Check.


Don't understand? Check


All my fault? Che...


Now hold on one moment, because I don't recall it being my derriere that was grounded!


Oh, of course, I did the grounding, therefore the fault is mine. Sure, feel free to go and dramatically throw yourself on your bunk, despite the fact it will take a three day expedition and a team of sherpas to breach the laundry mountain so you can get there.


At least, and this is a small mercy, he took the old codger's advice (that is apparently me...) and did a quick side trip to Cogwerk and hit one of the mini-bosses there, just to make sure he was 'in pursuit' and couldn't have the gateway lock on him, as it inevitably would after the next Major Meltdown.


Oops, guess who just had his licence revoked again.


It is at times like this, when I sit and reflect (while wishing I could pour molten lead into my ear canals to block out the wailing and moaning) that I silently beseech the Gamesmasters that run this Mecha Galaxy.


Please, oh please, when the gateways are reset, please do not lock off the advancement points our pilots have achieved. Not only for my own fledgling pilot, but for all those newcomers who don't yet have a mentor like myself to show them the ins and outs and tricks and tweaks to help them along in their career.


If for nothing else, at least do it for the sake of my sanity...


and eardrums.

Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Jabberwocky The Dilophos Mecha Spotlight

* Editors note - I came across this in my files of writing, it is the humble origins of my Regis mecha Jabberwocky. She wasn't always a Regis. She used to be a Dilophos, this is the basic build for her back then.

The origins of this mech are quite a tale in and of themselves. It was once part of the beginnings of the AFF piloted then by a man simply called Jabber. This mech has been spoken about in both the A.N.N. and here in our pages at Galaxy Gathering. It was taken to Immolia where the pilot Jabber was then killed by the reawakened Niodemancer Captain Johnathan Judas. Judas then piloted over to the Cogwerk ports and laid siege to the ports with this mech after he renamed it The Heretic. After a long and drawn out confrontation both the Niodemancer and the Dilophos both were brought down by the Illyrain task force and the mech found its way to Star Factories where it was stripped of its weapons and scrubbed of all mission data or so they thought, that is when I purchased it.

It came to me pretty much as an empty mech, no weapons, no equipment and just your basic functions on board. As I started to repair and rebuild it I made a startling discovery. Somehow the original Battle A.I. who was call-signed Wocky was still on board and viable. She had hidden away deep within the mechs subroutines to avoid deletion by The Niodemancer when he had stolen and renamed her. I was elated to say the least. This was a part of history I now owned. This mech and its accompanying A.I. had brought down rouge Shogunate forces, and bested Sever driving bounty hunters, all before it had ever come into the Galactic spotlight with Judas!

So I began rebuilding her from the ground up. First was her cockpit the battle A.I. needed to be comfortable so I filled her up  with Betrus Processors to give her an overall precision of 70. Next was the chassis which was a simple mixture of Coolant systems and Untiam Actuators, all powered by the engines which were placed inside for which I selected three Indefinite Singularity engines. I even found a couple of shield systems laying around that I installed to her using Vympel Gamma shielding in concert with KLIF Gamma shields and added an Arctic Delta.

I had to strip down some other mechs I had to get all the weapons together and splurged to get a few more in the process. Resulting in the following for her weapon system - a simple mixture of multiple Archfiend lasers, double Rage Pulsars, multiple Flavian Spears, a bank of quad Kaos Beams, three Carnassal lasers, with the rest being Galaxy Eye lasers to fully round out her 27 weapon slots at level 85 modification.

So she went from being purchased unequipped and nothing but a shell with the following ratings...

Bonuses before equipment:
Precision (10)
Speed - 15
Fork 27%
Speed + 21
Slow (10)
Missile Vulnerable 8%
Laser Shield 40%
Fire Vulnerable 5%
Laser Damage + 45%
2X Damage 45%
3X Damage 15%
Fire Damage + 10%

To this once all was said and done with her various equipment installed...
Ice Shield 38%
Fire Vulnerable 14%
Shield (61)
Proj. Shield 38%
Laser Vulnerable 10%
Missile Shield 38%
Ice Vulnerable 10%
Speed + 76
2X Damage 54%
Precision (70)
Crit-Kill 18%
Dodge (32)
Fire Damage + 40%
Ice Damage + 30%
Fire Shield (60)
Freeze 21%
Speed - 15
Fork 27%
Slow (10)
Missile Vulnerable 8%
Laser Shield 40%
Laser Damage + 45%
3X Damage 15%

Is there room for improvement? Of course there is and rest assured I will make many modifications before I retire this mech, but for now given it's rich history and some of the battles it has seen it is an honor and a pleasure to own as well as drive this 75 ton monster. The Jabberwocky lives again and she is mine!

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534