A single player experience to wet the appetite for the multiplayer, think I have something that covers most bases, aim is in 3 battles with a connected storyline and multiple variations to each battle (as its single player that most people will experience before hopefully moving onto multiplayer) to give a noob the experience of all the 'mechs, tanks, and aerotech fighters, plus a BattleArmour raid:
Note: Objectives are listed as achievements (alla MW2), theres actually no more than 3 in any battle, but achievements such as "all APCs must survive" are there as secondary and tertiary objectives to aid replay value)
Operation: First Blood
Date: January 3059
Planet: Asgard, Clan Smoke Jaguar Occupation Zone
Factions: Star League Defence Force, Clan Smoke Jaguar
6 months Prior to Operation Bulldog the SLDF was a relatively untried force, while comprising some of the best trained, highly experienced and motivated soldiers the innersphere had to offer, the SLDF was without a recent military tradition, with only ancient victories to inspire confidence in the Force. Operation Firstblood, designed and executed in absolute secrecy, was designed as much to raise morale as to test equipment and tactics prior to Operation Bulldog. It was the hope of the SLDF brass that this could be used to create a better Espirit de Corps amongst the entire SLDF.
Conceived initially as a Battalion level assault upon several secondary targets on Port Arthur, Operation Firstblood was scaled back to a Company level raid, and the planet Asgard was chosen as a softer target. The Company of 'Mechs and their supporting Armour and Aerotech were chosen from Regiments all over the SLDF and comprised the best of the many volunteers that were found.
The 'mechs, dropships and vehicles were stripped of all insignia and repainted in generic camouflage for the terrains they were to drop into, and the soldiers received psych evaluation & conditioning before being issued suicide capsules in the event of capture by the enemy.**********
First Battle: Dead by Dawn
Planet Asgard: Mountainous Artic Tundra Region.
Enviroment: 5 Minutes before Dawn, Medium Snowfall throughout, Aurora Borealis lightshow in the sky.
Primary Objective: Secure HPG Station at Nav Beta,
Primary Objective: Destroy Comms Station generator at Nav Alpha,
Secondary Objective: Destroy all enemy 'mechs
Secondary Objective: All VTOL transports must survive.
Tertiary Objective: Prevent Smoke Jaguars from raising the Alarm.
Tertiary Objective: Secure Salvage
Player Experience: 'Mech pilot with Armour support. Player can choose stealth or brute force approach to mission.
The Player takes the role of Charlie Lance Leader within the 'Mech Company, Clarlie Lance is a medium lance (Player can pick any mech in any config for their own 'mech), the lancemates are 2 Uziel & 1 Bushwhacker. The Lance has Armour support, tanks such as Harassers and Shreks. The Player can issue orders to one of the Uziels (which has a Bushwhacker staying in formation with it, attacking its target) the other Uziel, similar to the Bushwhacker, shadows the players 'mech, creating in effect 2 points of 2 'mechs and simplifying orders. Charlie Lance is operating on a different continent to Alpha and Bravo Lance and their supporting elements so they don't take part in the players experience of this battle. Charlie Lance is to secure a safe landing for Commandos and Technicians at the planets newly constructed HPG Station, it is hoped that the Technicians will be able to hack the Jaguars defense & sensor network, crippling the Clan for long enough that Alpha & Bravo Lance can capture and loot the supply depot.
The start cutscene is of two leopard dropships burning down from high orbit space (planet light by patches of bright spots for cities towns etc. as the leopards fly from dawn into night) and in the blue-black of a pre-dawn night, under cover of a solar storm, showing the lighting effects of to the max. The scene is the polar north continent of the planet, the lance and its support armour are dropped 3kilo from Nav Alpha. The Light fighter moves out to scout, the game begins as the fighter reports two Shadowcat 'mechs on patrol between the lance and the Comms Station at Alpha.
The Player can choose to engage and destroy both fast (must both be dead within 45 seconds from detection) or avoid them and take a longer route around a mountain to the Comms Station (via new navpoints, Zeta & Theta). If the player fails to destroy both within the timelimit, the Alarm will be raised and the objectives will be reinforced when the player arrives. Two medium aerotech fighters may come to the Shadowcats aid, arriving a 15 Seconds after the Alarm is raised and focusing primarily on killing the Armour supporting the 'Mechs.
Nav Alpha is a collection of a dozen small buildings in a fortified compound, guarded by 6 clan assorted light 'Mechs supported by a star of Elementals. Turrets are Anti-Air and Laser. If no Alarm has been raised then only 4 mechs are at Alpha, the other 2 are on patrol and 20 seconds after the fight begins at Alpha they will spawn 3 kms out and rush to aid the defence. The main generator must be destroyed within the first minute of detection by the 'mechs at Alpha to prevent the Alarm being raised. If the Alarm had been raised by the Shadowcats then there will also be a significant amount of Medium and Light Armour and several VTOLs will be on patrol in the surrounding area and all 6 mechs will be present at the base from the beginning.
Nav Beta is a few clicks further down a valley. If the Alarm had been raised by the Shadowcats then it is about halfway down this valley that the player will encounter the large number of clan medium & Light tanks that are moving to reinforce the now-dead light mechs at Alpha If the Alarm had been raised by the Generator then the two Shadowcats and Aerotech fighters from earlier (if still alive) will move to attack the Lance from the rear when the first tank dies. If no Alarm has been raised the player will encounter half the amount of Armour and it will be in 2 patrols (bite size encounters) as the lance moves to Beta.
The HPG Station is defended by many towed turrets, mostly anti air and anti vehicle, The HPG Facility comprises of a few buildings on the large scale, right next to the HPG Station is an airstrip with several buildings and VTOL Pads, 4 hangers and a Barracks, to the other side of the Station is a makeshift MFB, field Barracks and ammo crates sandbagged. The Station has been built on the only significantly wide open flat area of the map and is still under construction, theres several cranes and heavy construction vehicles present, one wall around the Station (with better turrets) has been partially completed. It should now be morning, the snow fall has stopped.
If no Alarm has been raised then the station is defended by 4 medium 'mechs (no Shadowcats, they went out on patrol) with a star of Elementals with no Armour support. Since no alarm was raised the two medium Aerotech fighters have returned and are on the ground, the pilots napping, they will only take off 1.5 minutes after fighting begins and only as long as the airstrips barracks is intact. The radio will urge the player to destroy the barracks and take the aerotech as salvage. As soon as the fighting begins VTOLs start taking off and join the fight.
If the Alarm was raised by the generator at Alpha there will be a significant number of Heavy and Medium Armour in support of the 'mechs here, there will be double the number of VTOLS, and half will be airbourne and holding a defensive range of 1 km out, until their 'mechs attack. Any detection here will result in a massed attack by the clanners.
If the Alarm was raised by the Shadowcats then the VTOLS will be in the air, with more patrolling near by (they will come to the support of their allies as soon as the fight begins at Beta), and there will be medium Armour support in place for the 'Mechs. The fighters will not be there. The Clanners in this instance will try to hold back and use range and their turrets to create a killzone.
When base turrets are reduced to 30% heavy lifters will fly in with battlesuited commandos to take the buildings, 30 seconds after landing the Clan Technicians will surrender the Station and the mission will end.
With the HPG dead and Clan communications disrupted its time for Alpha and Bravo Lance's to do the raid.
*************
Second Battle: Supplies Party
Planet Asgard, Southern Continent, Rolling Hills with 3 Small Villages a Large Clan Supply Depot with a MagLev train in the middle.
Enviroment: Twilight (that fluid golden hue), clear skies, ending under the stars
Player Experience: Battle Armour vs Infantry, Elementals, Vehicles and Light Mechs, Armour employed in support of Assault 'mechs.
Primary Objective: Secure Supply Depot
Primary Objective: Escort APC's to the Dropship.
Secondary Objective: All APCs must survive.
Secondary Objective: Secure Salvage
Secondary Objective: Support Alpha Lance
Tertiary Objective: Destroy an enemy 'mech (in a tank or as part of a BA Squad)
Tertiary Objective: All Salvaged Vehicles must survive.
After the player has picked and configured their battle-armour from a list of all available, the experience starts with a cut-scene of 3 Heavy transport VTOLs flying over some lovely rendered showcase countryside, the idyl is broken by radio chatter, we are told that "Charlies took out the Grid, Alpha and Bravo you are good to go" fades and now the VTOLs are above the smoke of burning clan light 'mechs & assorted burning Armour, and the burning buildings of the first village, we see Bravo Heavy Lance with Armour support softening up the Depots defences as the players VTOL transport flies in to hot-drop the players Battle-Armour squad(with several other BA squads, all the IS variant) in the middle of a Large Clan supply depot.
The first phase is a chaotic melee, with turrets being taken out, 'mechs from Bravo taking out a Clan 'mech and destroying vehicles as a backdrop to the Player and their BA squads experience. Most everything except for infantry is too focused on the 'mechs and vehicles to target the BA Squads. The Players Squad ice waves of infantry and some Elementals, a minute after the drop the last of the enemy large targets has been destroyed and so the 'mechs & Vehicles from Bravo Lance move on to engage other targets. The player and their BA squad now have buildings as Nav points and must move from building to building clearing out the stubborn clan infantry. When half of the infantry are dead a Kitfox arrives and is engaged by another BA squad who ask for assistance, the Player then gets to have fun taking down a light mech with the other BA en masse (and if the Player in BA score more than 15% of the damage, or kills the 'mech it counts as the Secondary Objective). After the last of the infantry are dead the supply depots doors open and a column of APCs with Medium Armour Escort arrive to sack the depot. However within the depot are all of the tanks available in the game (stock configs) any of which the player may pilot.
If the player decides to stay as BA then after 30 seconds the APCs are loaded and all the tanks will leave with the APCs and head for a dropship not far away, on the way to the dropship, the column must pass through the second village, and this is the site of an ambush by several light clan vehicles with Elementals hiding in the buildings. Between the Dropship and the Village is one last Clan Cougar 'mech. The mission ends when the APCs and the Player arrive at the dropship.
If the Player decides to pilot one of the tanks then upon entering the vehicle they will recieve a request for support from Alpha Lance, 4 Assault 'mechs (2 Awesome, 1 Atlas and a Fafnir) on a hill overlooking the 3rd village, not too far away. The player can head off towards the dropship(In which case the APC Column and tanks will follow). Or the player can head towards Alpha Lance (some tanks will follow). In this case the APC column will wait for the player to return before heading for the dropship. If the player waits for 30 seconds in a tank before leaving the depot then the APCs will head for the dropship with all the tanks.
Upon arriving with Alpha Lance the player will be thrown into an Assault on the 3rd village (which is home to a star of elementals that have been spotted waiting in ambush), when the Assault starts various waves of VTOLs and Clan 'mechs move into relieve the Elementals, and the player in support of Alpha lance fights through waves of 'mechs and tanks, Clan 'Aerotech move arrive and attack but after the first pass are set upon by IS aerotech in greater numbers. Overhead Aerotech fighters are focused on each other, now oblivious to the ground pounders. The objective is achieved when the last of the enemy drops, but should last long enough and be of enough variation to make the player want to pilot a tank in the multiplayer. The player must then proceed to the depot and escort the APC column to the dropship. Should the player follow this route it should be fully night, a clear sky with stars, by the time the player reaches the dropships.
************
Third Battle: Twilight of the Gods
Planet: Asgard, Low to high Altitude over rolling hills
Space: High Orbit to Deep Space
Player Experience: Aerotech Dogfighting, Bomber Escort and Capitol Ship Attack
Primary Objective: Defend the Dropships until they make it to safety
Primary Objective: Disable the Clan Warships engines
Secondary Objective: All Dropships must survive
Secondary Objective: Defend the Bombers.
Secondary Objective: Destroy all Clan Aerotech fighters.
Tertiary Objective: All Bombers must survive.
Tertiary Objective: Destroy the Clan Warship
Note: slighty outside of guidelines as to number of Dropships and Warships, however, only 3 DS on the move at any one time, and only one warship playing any active part in the battle).
The Last battle is situated as the SLDF dropships retreat off planet with their ill gotten spoils to the protection of the waiting guns of the 2 Vincent Class Corvettes (or one big whatever!) The player picks his fighter from any available in the game and configures it. The cutscene is of the dropships loading the last of the vehicles and 'mechs while the players squadron passes overhead and turns steeply up into space. The players squadron is flying Combat Aerospace Patrol for several waves of dropships who enter from the direction of the planet at regular intervals, flying full g burns and running for the safety of the warships guns. The player has to beat down on wave after wave of clan fighters attempting to destroy the dropships before they get their speed up (ie travel a set distance then are no longer attacked and considered safe). The Clanners are launching from the planets moon and, for later waves, from a large clan warship that Jumps in as the last dropship wave makes its run(this turn of events is just bad luck, no distress call had been made). The Clan warship (would like to see a Black Lion or a Cameron) is moving slowly towards weapons range with the IS Warship/s, who can't hang around!
If more than one of the dropships are destroyed before the Clan Warship appears then the mission will end.
When the Clan Warship appears the IS warship/s will launch heavy fighters armed to disable/destroy the Clan warship, they will be escorted by a small fighter screen launched at the same time. To allow the dropships time to dock and all to jump in safety, the player must now burn to the Clan Warship and brush aside clan fighters launched by the Clan Warship so that the bombers can make their runs.
When the Bombers have disabled the engines on the Warship the player will be recalled (achievement "Defend the Bombers" is gained), if the player follows orders all the IS aero's will retreat too, if the player stays 10 seconds after the order is made or proceeds to continue attacking the Warship then all the IS aerotech will stay too and continue to assault the Warship, the bombers should be enough in number to knock out the engines with several runs, but not enough in number to obliterate the warship without a long fight after the recall point. If the warship is destroyed the player is rewarded with the big bang, the achievement and the mission ends.
Cutscene, Dropships docking, the warship burning (or just inactive) in the distance, fragments of clan fighters and other debris, the IS Warship/s extends its sail/s and Jumps with the entire fleet to a new system, a crackling voice from an Aerotech patrol says "Welcome back Firstblood, you get us anything good?" etc.
It is important that the Clan Warship isn't cheated of the chance to show its deadliness, the IS fleet should enter its firing solution within just a few minutes of the Bombers being launched. A good player should have enough time to reduce the enemy fighters and let the bombers destroy the engines to prevent the Warship firing. A middle rate pilot should see the Warship send off a few salvo's, before its engines are destroyed and the IS Fleet slips away. A novice pilot should see the Clan Warship butchering first a couple of dropships, then the IS warship/s in the third or fourth salvo, this will mean the mission ending in failure, but it'll certainly make an impression
End
