On the “bug-head” design, the Left and Right labels are flipped (these are flipped on the Critical Hit Table too). This design was changed with the release of Battletech 2nd Edition a year later, which introduced what I call the classic “bug head” design (the one I’m most familar with and stayed around for quite a while):
The Critical Hit locations on the record sheet that would be below the armour diagram are actually arranged in the same way too. Take a closer look at the Battledroids Armour Diagram though: although it’s a rather crude representation, it’s obvious there that we are looking at the mech from the front, because the Left Torso/Arm/Leg are shown on the left side of the mech, the Right Torso/Arm/Leg are on the right side of the mech. The first edition of the game was called Battledroids (published in 1984), and that had a very different looking record sheet: In official publications, it seems there have been three layouts of Mech Record Sheets since Battletech’s inception. Let’s step back and look at how these sheets have evolved over time.
But since I like investigating things I thought it’d be worth a closer look to figure out what may be going on here, and to see if there’s a better way to present the Armour Diagram. In fact, it seems the vast majority of players either don’t care or don’t even consciously realise that left and right are possibly flipped on the diagram (for reasons described below) – and that’s totally fine. The way I see it, the side marked “Left Torso” is actually shown on the right side of the mech (it’s the player’s left side, but not the mech’s left side)! This has bugged me since I first started playing Battletech back in the 80s, and now I’ve started playing again I was reminded of it once again so I thought I’d dig into this a little further.įirst, let’s be absolutely clear – this doesn’t trouble everyone who plays Battletech. It’s not enough to significantly damage your mech, but certainly enough to get your attention as you scan for your attacker and raise your arm-mounted PPC to respond…Īnd so the player peers at their Mech Record Sheet, and marks off five points of damage on the Left Torso: Just your normal everyday record sheet.īut something’s funny here, to me at least.
You hear the distant boom of an Autocannon echoing across the landscape and your mech shudders at the shell impacts against its left torso, blasting off some of the armour plating.
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