Every time I see the tortoise, it drives me to ask how someone pilots it. It's so quirky. Agreed on the Marauder though. The Marians really seem to like Marauder-shaped hardware.
@@Accentaur Probably lying down head first , which just raises further questions such as "where's the access hatch?" and "do I crawl in head first or do I have to twist around once I'm inside?"
Eh, I give the Tortoise II one point in its favor, it mounts Clan Improved Stealth armor, so it is undetectable by anything without a Bloodhound Active Probe. Not saying it can't be seen, just that you can't know that it is there without actually seeing it, or the Bloodhound, until it fires on you and gives away its position.
Y'know, we (rightfully for the tabletop mind) might have misgivings about battle armor without jump jets, but when you actually think about it irl, 33kph sustained for what is technically an infantryman in multiple hundreds of pounds of armor is blisteringly fast
I like the Tin Star, partly because it feels like something we'd at least attempt IRL fairly early into the development of powered combat exoskeletons. Also it's just cool to see heavy weapons akimbo blasting away, even if you'd need rather slow or immobile support to sustain prolonged barrages.
Out of these 4, I have to say that the Tin Star is by far the most interesting; especially as I actually did have a fedora at one point. That Tortoise II on the other hand..... All I can say is that it's time for some turtle soup.
"New Avalon Institute of Science, can we stop and get some Battle Armor?" "We already have Battle Armor at home, sweetie." *The Battle Armor at home:* I found out that the Draconis Combine made a very amusing variant of the IS Standard model in the Dark Age known as the "Baka" that had SRM-2s instead of jumpjets. Whenever the wearer tried to initiate a jump, the HUD would flash the word "stupid" in Japanese on the screen.
The Tortoise II reminds me of those dogs without back legs that have wheels attached to their back torsos. They are probably just as mobile when it comes to stairs. A reminder that this battle armor was designed for city fighting, the most stair filled environment you can fight in. Thanks for the video.
Have you ever seen the Alpha Strike stats for the Tortoise II? The thing is a beast. 5/5/0 with stealth, it's perfect to plot down in a thicket of woods and just deny the enemy that area. They have to take them out fast, else that 5 damage will tear them apart. Tortoise II is a go to BA suit in AS.
After the first "must try" video (i watch them literally after each other) i updated my Mech Factory app, since it was outdated. However even with the newest version the Stormbird is not in it, however the Tinstar is, interestingly. And both the Tinstar and the Kalisto are not yet present on Sarna. It´s getting hard to keep up with tech when the available data bases aren´t properly updated. On that i agree, without jump jets the suit better comes with either excellent ground speed or stealth, that would allow it to lay ambushes making for a great defensive unit. Domestic production is definitely preferable, not just does that mean you are independent from outside sources, it also keeps money in you nation and you people employed. The Tortoise to me seems like a case of "trying too hard". Or a "it´s simple to make something complicated, it´s complicated to make something simple".
I'm really enjoying learning about all the different battle armor sets in battletech's history. Thanks for the good videos and keep up the good work! Oh, and welcome to the aux
@@MechanicalFrog I'm enjoying ur content very much. It's simple yet descriptive. Now I'll admit, I love long form videos cus I can put them on in the background at work and not have to touch anything, but I do like the short videos as well, they're well made.
Glad that I picked the Inner Sphere Battle Armor Forcepack from the Mercenaries Kickstarter, cause I'm looking forward to create a Capellan augmented lance/company with squads of IS standard BA
Tortoise II would make for an interesting support unit for Urbanmechs. Both seem to be designed for ambush. Both seem to be specifically designed for slogging urban combat. Both are expendable-ish. Most Mechwarriors would focus on the Urbies while the Tortoise (Murder Hobo... MurBo) could lay down effective harassing fire. The Potential for periphery shenanigans is just so tempting.
I think the issue with both is that they're very niche concerning where they excel. A more generalist mech/BA is going to be able to do that job, and more.
I whole heartedly agree. But a lot of things in battletech seem to have that underlying cruelty that humans have toward one another. And I always try to see and play battletech more through the lenses of lore than meta. Yeah I would rather have marauder battle armor than tortoise 2, but if I RNG a squad of tortoise then you bet I'm trying to use it to the fullest.
@@MechanicalFrog had to edit, "errata", as in people would load up a transport with Tortoises and run up to a target unload and have the BA blast it. It's a bit harder to do now post errata
I actually ordered some IS BA from the KS as I needed to get something that would allow me to select the Blood Asp salvage box. While I haven't used any BA in tabletop yet I do love how Clan Elementals can mount Omnimechs like the Fire Moth allowing the Clans to better utilize combined arms doctrine since for the most part have a very no vehicle bias. Thanks again for these informative videos.
Glad you enjoyed it. I added a box of IS BA from the kickstarter as well, hoping the quality is better than the clan Elementals. Going that small is tough on their manufacturing process.
That was excellent!👏👏👏I want some Stormbird armour to add to my Ravens. And I’m glad you put the Tortoise II in. How the hell does that thing get up or down stairs? Lastly: where my 🐴? Please cover the Buraq sometime!🙏
The clan tortoise too looks pretty silly to me don't see much purpose in it. It would have been a lot better. I think to make it more of a heavily armed doing buggy with a couple of crew members with that kind of firepower would probably be a heck of a lot more efficient.
Regarding the tortoise, wheels are clearly easier to make than legs, but Battle Armor canonically must have legs or else they would be considered micro vehicles instead. To that end, the simple design for the rear wheels, and the traction the front legs provide could perhaps offset the odd aesthetic.
So perhaps it was a contractual thing where the designers really wanted to cut corners while still technically calling it battle armor and not a vehicle.
@@MechanicalFrog He’s chill. I’m a teeny tiny creator but I wanna start making Battletech/hobby content in general, maybe some day we’ll rub shoulders.
Frog, I'd change the videos name to "Must-Try Battle Armor Designs for Your Next Game of Tabletop Battletech part 2" and make is a series. Ther's lot of more coll BA to highlight IMO. And why not later on make same sort of series about ASF, and tanks? Could be a fun occasional series. Also the TinStars "hat" reminds be more of a 60-70's miner hard hat (they did versions that were flat at the top, not only the round version) or if you feel its mroe a hat its not a fedora but whats called a pork pie hat. The Tortoise is nasty used right in tournament play on a small battlefield.
I'm told that videos in series with numbers don't do as well. People don't click on them if they haven't seen the first, and don't bother to hunt down the first.
@@MechanicalFrog Not sure who's telling you that, but they are most likely wrong and sad. But you do what you feel is best for your channel. I'll keep watching.
Totally agree that turtle thing is just bad i can see it getting Totally stuck in mud or sand . Another quality video Mechwarrior Frog 😊 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Even though Inner sphere battle Armor is woefully inferior. I love the Grey Death Legion Battle Armor they look so Cool. But all of the Clan Armor looks so hard corp. No wonder Com Star thought they were ALIENS.
Hello Frog. I agree that the Fronc Reaches are acting rationally in spreading out their production abilities. Especially in the light of the loss of Detroit, and the raid you mentioned. Although the suit has no jump jets, it is still a valuable asset on the battlefield. Once again, especially against such threats as pirate raids. As for the 'abomination'... all I can say is 'Kill It With Fire!'. And to agree that it should have been designed either with four wheels, or four legs. This design, as it stands, is just BAD.
I can't defend the design of the Tortoise, but I can explain it; have you seen the disaster that is the fashion industry? Or the lump of Playstation one creativity that is the cybertruck? There has always been unreasonable people with too much money who want a thing the way they imagine it, despite how many engineers, scientists, or people with common sense tell them otherwise Edit: Autocorrect hates me
I think their ok but, a bit underwhelming personally. What really bothers me is their in-universe origin, Smoke Jaguar was one of the more conservative Clans (in regards to Clan ideology) incurring the expense of creating an entirely new warrior sub-caste, new combat vehicle and combat doctrine to address a looming resource/man-power shortage just doesn't sound like them.
The purpose for the tortoise is quite simple. For the lols. Also my favorite battle armor is the marauder because its literally just a small Marauder
It's actually really effective in AS. One variant has 5/5/0 damage. They also have stealth armor
Every time I see the tortoise, it drives me to ask how someone pilots it. It's so quirky. Agreed on the Marauder though. The Marians really seem to like Marauder-shaped hardware.
It makes my back hurt to think about someone being inside that thing.
@@Accentaur Probably lying down head first , which just raises further questions such as "where's the access hatch?" and "do I crawl in head first or do I have to twist around once I'm inside?"
Marauder BA is literally the only good thing to come out of the Marian Hegemony. It’s my favourite too!
I didn't know the IS Standard got an art update. Loving the new look so far. Glad to see the TinStar mentioned on here. It really do have a hat.
There's a picture of the IS Standard in the IlClan Rec Guide 32 but it's low resolution. I am hoping we see it full size soon.
It looks badass in new art. It would be great if they can be armed with autocannons
@@Darren_Xero I love the bulky but imposing look so far. I love what catalysts is doing with the new art
@@Darren_Xero It definitely looks better.
It might be the new look in the mercenaries Kickstarter.
Who designed the Tortoise 2 IRL clearly had a deep love of Rat Trap's techno-organic form from Transformers Beastwars Part 2.
MORE WE DEMAND MORE pls
Yes!
Indeed!
Eh, I give the Tortoise II one point in its favor, it mounts Clan Improved Stealth armor, so it is undetectable by anything without a Bloodhound Active Probe. Not saying it can't be seen, just that you can't know that it is there without actually seeing it, or the Bloodhound, until it fires on you and gives away its position.
And it has the laugh factor. When it is spotted, you're laughing too hard to aim accurately at it.
Like how you said the Fenris borders on Protomech logic, the Tortoise borders on just being a light vehicle or even some sort of Proto-QuadVee.
We must not say the P-word too often or it will summon the devoted cohort of superfans that demand videos on them.
That last one sounds like a great base-defending ambusher. No one expects a car when attacking the barracks, and a whole squad of them sounds nasty.
I just cannot get past the absurdity of it.
Y'know, we (rightfully for the tabletop mind) might have misgivings about battle armor without jump jets, but when you actually think about it irl, 33kph sustained for what is technically an infantryman in multiple hundreds of pounds of armor is blisteringly fast
Fair.
faster then usain bolt i think he was like 30 kph
@@tahhotep and thats sprints, even usain bolt can't sustain that kinda speed
Just imagine an enemy getting hit with a future armor clothesline at 33KPH.
@gryphon3241 does it say anywhere how long folks in battle armor can run?
The tinstar really just looks like its going to say "mi lady".
"M'pirate." Tips hat with Colonial intent.
lil bit.
I like the Tin Star, partly because it feels like something we'd at least attempt IRL fairly early into the development of powered combat exoskeletons. Also it's just cool to see heavy weapons akimbo blasting away, even if you'd need rather slow or immobile support to sustain prolonged barrages.
Out of these 4, I have to say that the Tin Star is by far the most interesting; especially as I actually did have a fedora at one point.
That Tortoise II on the other hand.....
All I can say is that it's time for some turtle soup.
"New Avalon Institute of Science, can we stop and get some Battle Armor?"
"We already have Battle Armor at home, sweetie."
*The Battle Armor at home:*
I found out that the Draconis Combine made a very amusing variant of the IS Standard model in the Dark Age known as the "Baka" that had SRM-2s instead of jumpjets. Whenever the wearer tried to initiate a jump, the HUD would flash the word "stupid" in Japanese on the screen.
Sounds like something the Combine would come up with to keep morale from getting dangerously high.
I have always wondered why people didn't use ultralight/security mechs to counter Battle Armor. Fun video as always.
The Tortoise II reminds me of those dogs without back legs that have wheels attached to their back torsos. They are probably just as mobile when it comes to stairs. A reminder that this battle armor was designed for city fighting, the most stair filled environment you can fight in. Thanks for the video.
I'm sure it'll be fine. Go full production.
I'ma throw in my vote for more of these, as cool as mechs are i love hearing about the other unit types that make this setting so feckin cool
Absolutely going to do another one. Once people discover how awesome battle armor is on the tabletop, oof... there will be tears.
Lol! That tortoise!! I've been really into the se'irim, purifier, Leonidas and tengu armors recently
Oh nice!
Have you ever seen the Alpha Strike stats for the Tortoise II? The thing is a beast. 5/5/0 with stealth, it's perfect to plot down in a thicket of woods and just deny the enemy that area. They have to take them out fast, else that 5 damage will tear them apart. Tortoise II is a go to BA suit in AS.
Yes I've seen it's a beast.
A new fave of my is the Dragoon battle armor as its the BA from Mech Assault 2
A fun one, for sure.
After the first "must try" video (i watch them literally after each other) i updated my Mech Factory app, since it was outdated.
However even with the newest version the Stormbird is not in it, however the Tinstar is, interestingly. And both the Tinstar and the Kalisto are not yet present on Sarna.
It´s getting hard to keep up with tech when the available data bases aren´t properly updated.
On that i agree, without jump jets the suit better comes with either excellent ground speed or stealth, that would allow it to lay ambushes making for a great defensive unit.
Domestic production is definitely preferable, not just does that mean you are independent from outside sources, it also keeps money in you nation and you people employed.
The Tortoise to me seems like a case of "trying too hard". Or a "it´s simple to make something complicated, it´s complicated to make something simple".
I'm really enjoying learning about all the different battle armor sets in battletech's history. Thanks for the good videos and keep up the good work! Oh, and welcome to the aux
Thank you for coming by to give the vid a try.
@@MechanicalFrog I'm enjoying ur content very much. It's simple yet descriptive. Now I'll admit, I love long form videos cus I can put them on in the background at work and not have to touch anything, but I do like the short videos as well, they're well made.
Glad that I picked the Inner Sphere Battle Armor Forcepack from the Mercenaries Kickstarter, cause I'm looking forward to create a Capellan augmented lance/company with squads of IS standard BA
Looking forward to painting them up some day.
Tortoise II would make for an interesting support unit for Urbanmechs. Both seem to be designed for ambush. Both seem to be specifically designed for slogging urban combat. Both are expendable-ish. Most Mechwarriors would focus on the Urbies while the Tortoise (Murder Hobo... MurBo) could lay down effective harassing fire. The Potential for periphery shenanigans is just so tempting.
I think the issue with both is that they're very niche concerning where they excel. A more generalist mech/BA is going to be able to do that job, and more.
I whole heartedly agree. But a lot of things in battletech seem to have that underlying cruelty that humans have toward one another. And I always try to see and play battletech more through the lenses of lore than meta. Yeah I would rather have marauder battle armor than tortoise 2, but if I RNG a squad of tortoise then you bet I'm trying to use it to the fullest.
I stumbled on the Stormbird after your last video. Great unit if supported right.
Keep these coming. They're are a great reference.
Will do. Thanks for watching.
The Tortoise II. When you get the weakness of both a walker and a wheeled vehicle without either's strengths.
At least it is good in Alphastrike.
Wish they would redesign the Tortoise to make it roller skate on its wheels upright. Wheeled vehicle that can traverse woods would be nice.
Even a trike would make more sense.
Im loving this series. I hope the first four, post Revival, Clan suits get their own video.
We'll see... we'll see...
I love seeing that TRO 3025 on the table.
One of the greatest.
The Tortoise is so powerful in Alpha Strike they had to errata how transports work.
Kablooey.
@@MechanicalFrog had to edit, "errata", as in people would load up a transport with Tortoises and run up to a target unload and have the BA blast it.
It's a bit harder to do now post errata
@@warlok363 Well that sounds horrifying.
Id love to hear your take in my favorite, the Fa Shi.
It's on the short list for the future.
Love u to check out the Elemental III, its my go to in the ilclan era and a monster
Elemental II and III are on the list. They might get something special.
I actually ordered some IS BA from the KS as I needed to get something that would allow me to select the Blood Asp salvage box. While I haven't used any BA in tabletop yet I do love how Clan Elementals can mount Omnimechs like the Fire Moth allowing the Clans to better utilize combined arms doctrine since for the most part have a very no vehicle bias. Thanks again for these informative videos.
Glad you enjoyed it. I added a box of IS BA from the kickstarter as well, hoping the quality is better than the clan Elementals. Going that small is tough on their manufacturing process.
8:10 I bet the designer was watching old westerns.
12:04 this designer was watching that crappy doom movie. It looks like pinky.
Indeed.
I'm very much enjoying this line of videos, keep them up!
Glad you like them! It's a blast to piece them together.
That was excellent!👏👏👏I want some Stormbird armour to add to my Ravens. And I’m glad you put the Tortoise II in. How the hell does that thing get up or down stairs?
Lastly: where my 🐴? Please cover the Buraq sometime!🙏
I'll have to get to work on that.
This is the first vid of yours I've seen. Fedora Mech looks like its about to solve a crime in the 1940s
Looks like it has several tough cases open and a drinking problem.
The clan tortoise too looks pretty silly to me don't see much purpose in it. It would have been a lot better. I think to make it more of a heavily armed doing buggy with a couple of crew members with that kind of firepower would probably be a heck of a lot more efficient.
Agreed.
Regarding the tortoise, wheels are clearly easier to make than legs, but Battle Armor canonically must have legs or else they would be considered micro vehicles instead. To that end, the simple design for the rear wheels, and the traction the front legs provide could perhaps offset the odd aesthetic.
So perhaps it was a contractual thing where the designers really wanted to cut corners while still technically calling it battle armor and not a vehicle.
Yooooo I loved seeing you in that Hellbringer video!
Heh, thanks! It was fun to help out. BigRed is good people.
@@MechanicalFrog He’s chill. I’m a teeny tiny creator but I wanna start making Battletech/hobby content in general, maybe some day we’ll rub shoulders.
@@haligaz9119 Never enough BattleTech content out there.
Frog, I'd change the videos name to "Must-Try Battle Armor Designs for Your Next Game of Tabletop Battletech part 2" and make is a series. Ther's lot of more coll BA to highlight IMO. And why not later on make same sort of series about ASF, and tanks? Could be a fun occasional series.
Also the TinStars "hat" reminds be more of a 60-70's miner hard hat (they did versions that were flat at the top, not only the round version) or if you feel its mroe a hat its not a fedora but whats called a pork pie hat.
The Tortoise is nasty used right in tournament play on a small battlefield.
I'm told that videos in series with numbers don't do as well. People don't click on them if they haven't seen the first, and don't bother to hunt down the first.
@@MechanicalFrog Not sure who's telling you that, but they are most likely wrong and sad. But you do what you feel is best for your channel. I'll keep watching.
@@Bolththrower Will do. Thanks for becoming a member.
There are some wacky battlearmor (like the horse one)
Absolutely.
Totally agree that turtle thing is just bad i can see it getting Totally stuck in mud or sand . Another quality video Mechwarrior Frog 😊
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks! Yeah the Tortoise is really baffling...
The hat you're thinking of is a homberg.
I have the most informative youtube comments section on the site.
I hope we get break downs of each house armour designs
Possible.
In defense of the Tortoise II... well, it looks like one of those Roadster monsters from FF14 I guess. Gorilla dog in the front, wheel in the back.
Business up front, wacky in the back.
The Tortoise II is so overpowered in Alpha Strike that it's often banned from tournaments.
hah.
We need a quote from Vasyl, get his hot take on this topic. :)
Hah. Yeah he might have an opinion or two on these new toys.
*a Mech’s cockpit is wrenched open by the awful menacing claws of battle armor*
*tips brim of helmet* M’lady…
Terrifying.
I hope we cover a top # list of the most obscure or bizarre Battle Armor.
I am not sure I can top the Tortoise II.
Tin Star has good potential. Gives me ideas
Sweet.!
Tortise 2 looks like Pinky from the old doom movie
Yeah there is a resemblance.
Even though Inner sphere battle Armor is woefully inferior. I love the Grey Death Legion Battle Armor they look so Cool.
But all of the Clan Armor looks so hard corp. No wonder Com Star thought they were ALIENS.
I've always appreciate the alien-like look that Clan stuff has. Units like the Elemental armor and Marauder IIC (original) are just awesome.
If you'll do a third video on the subject, please give the Sylph, the Kanazuchi and the Infiltrator II "Puma" a good look. 😊
I will look into them. The Slyph is definitely on the list.
Now do the Trinity Suits, Ravager, Marauder, and Amazon to complete the Periphery Power Armor sets lol
So much to do, so little time.
@@MechanicalFrog Clone yourself lol
@@yecnay25 If only.
Hello Frog.
I agree that the Fronc Reaches are acting rationally in spreading out their production abilities. Especially in the light of the loss of Detroit, and the raid you mentioned.
Although the suit has no jump jets, it is still a valuable asset on the battlefield. Once again, especially against such threats as pirate raids.
As for the 'abomination'... all I can say is 'Kill It With Fire!'. And to agree that it should have been designed either with four wheels, or four legs. This design, as it stands, is just BAD.
I'm not totally opposed to battle armor without jump jets. However, there needs to be a very compelling reason to not have them.
Second for more about battle armor
There will absolutely be another one next week.
Try the lbx thunderhawk for some real punch
Nothing like a little grapeshot to remind people how things are going to be.
I can't defend the design of the Tortoise, but I can explain it; have you seen the disaster that is the fashion industry? Or the lump of Playstation one creativity that is the cybertruck? There has always been unreasonable people with too much money who want a thing the way they imagine it, despite how many engineers, scientists, or people with common sense tell them otherwise
Edit: Autocorrect hates me
Therapist: "The Tortoise II can't harm you"
Tortoise II: *Slowly rolling closer in a menacing manner*
IS THAT A SNOW RAVEN I SEE *racks machinegun*
"It's coming right for me!" *blam*
Clan aerotech please!
More Battle Armors? More. likes!, 👍👍👍👍
Oh is that the pattern... hmm...
And if you would pretty please do some more power armor
The script for the next one is finished. I will record it tonight and hopefully have it out tomorrow morning.
Krupp BA I think only BA that is artillery
Deep down, aren't we all artillery?
@@MechanicalFrog lol well doing 6 years as an infantrymen in the army I'd say we more are all meat shields lol
@@enddhabzen9278 Maybe the real treasure is all the MRE's consumed along the way...
The nonsense train has no brakes. Hehehehe
"Choo Choo"
Curious to see what you think of Protomechs. They seemed to be a dead end of mech development.
Generally, not a fan.
I think their ok but, a bit underwhelming personally. What really bothers me is their in-universe origin, Smoke Jaguar was one of the more conservative Clans (in regards to Clan ideology) incurring the expense of creating an entirely new warrior sub-caste, new combat vehicle and combat doctrine to address a looming resource/man-power shortage just doesn't sound like them.
@@jasonscarborough94 We from what I understand, it's not a new warrior sub caste, it's the underutilized/underrespected aerospace phenotype.
@@bthsr7113 Fair point, I stand by the rest of my issues with the origin story however
Lmao get owned Falcons, nerds
Thank you. I needed a good laugh this morning.
Are the Trinity and Fa Shih any useful ? They both seem somewhat innovative, but is it just Maskirovka propaganda ?
The Trinity is interesting but I am bothered by the variants that are ammo dependent. The mines on the Fa Shih could be fun.