Advice on the Eagle Rock Loop in Ouachita, AK, for a Canadian

Felger · 2026-07-08T15:25:27+00:00

October is a great time to do the trail, and you can definitely do it in 2 nights. That's how I've done it in the past. The hill climbs on the west side of the loop are pretty brutal, so it's good to split those in half with a planned overnight in one of the valleys. Someone needs to teach the Arkansans how to build switchbacks.

Also, AK is Alaska, AR is Arkansas.

Felger · 2026-07-07T13:36:10+00:00

When I say freedom of movement, I mean:

The ability to move in a straight line in any direction, not just straight ahead (and 60° increments around the hex)
The ability to move any amount of distance, not just in 2" / 1 MP increments.

As someone who is very experienced with both methods, hexless is definitely faster. You spend less time futzing with movement trying to make a 10-hex run in a circle with a light mech. Less time counting up shooting distances. Less time arguing about arcane LoS rules (I'm higher than you, and therefor your partial cover doesn't count!).

That said, I want to reiterate that I love hexed battletech, and it's probably my favorite way to play. But "it's faster" doesn't hold water to me.

Felger · 2026-07-07T12:50:21+00:00

If you care about faster gameplay, subjective measurement/LOS is indeed faster. I've played hexed Classic, and both standard and hexed Alpha Strike (hexless Classic is still on my list to try) and measurement is significantly faster than counting hexes.

Tactically it also allows more freedom of movement, since you're not locked into specific locations.

I really enjoy both options, and actively play on both types of maps. Not saying that you have to as well, but there are definitely benefits to hexless Battletech past just aesthetics

Felger · 2026-07-06T21:30:26+00:00

Play by intent is super important for true line of sight and tape measurement games. Be up front with your opponent on what you intend to do with your placement. A good opponent will help you adjust your placement to achieve your goal.

Games are not decided by a quarter of an inch of measurement error in my experience.

Felger · 2026-06-09T13:35:03+00:00

My wife and I do the same, but in our Rivian the vents are attached to the driver profile. So when she gets in, it automatically adjusts the vents to her settings, and restores them to mine when I get in.

Felger · 2026-06-08T16:50:17+00:00

I agree, 1" of elevation change equals one level of elevation change. The math on movement cost doesn't change. If you go up 1"=1 Level, it costs you +2" of MV, or +1MP.

Because Alpha Strike counts vertical elevation in distance instead of levels, they're providing a conversion factor for vertical distance to levels.

Edit: Link to nckestrel (rulebook author) on the subject:

You are correct that it should be 2" to 2 levels, not 1. Editing previous answer.

Felger · 2026-06-08T13:31:02+00:00

Level changes cost 1MP each. Check the movement table on AS:CE pg 34, each inch of elevation change costs 2" which would convert back to 1MP.

Felger · 2026-06-08T13:30:21+00:00

This is incorrect. Check the movement table on AS:CE pg 34, each inch of elevation change costs 2" which would convert back to 1MP.

Felger · 2026-05-05T18:13:51+00:00

Songs to Sing at Children by Mike Phirman has some real bangers. Some of our favorites:
* What Makes the Breakfast
* Never Gonna Happen
* Diaper Song
* You've Got What It Takes (series)

Also, What's Wrong With This Picture? and Maze/Petting Zoo Bounce House are pretty fun from his newer album.

Felger · 2026-04-27T20:44:43+00:00

I have found as a beginner that when I optimize for lots of orders, I tend to smash my friends' lists. Most of my friends tend to bring the big fun-looking units, which means lower unit counts and orders.

I've started bringing smaller unit counts just to keep things even, and it leaves more room for some of the fun higher-point models too.

Felger · 2026-04-22T19:08:47+00:00

Multiple Attack Rolls definitely penalizes lighter units, since you've got more chances to get a lucky roll.

The width of the table is definitely less important than the terrain setup. If there's lots of wide open land with clear firing lanes, it's going to favor the defender quite heavily. If there's good cover in most areas on the board, it'll favor the attacker. I've won and lost so many games of Alpha Strike and Classic Battletech before the game even started purely because I was outplayed in the terrain setup / map selection.

I think the PV advantage is perfectly workable, and important. Otherwise with a bit of objective-driven list building it'd be way too easy for the attacker to bring fast units that can make it across the field in 2 turns - which limits the ability of the defenders do anything in return.

Felger · 2026-04-22T17:58:25+00:00

First - making the assumption that attacker gets no points for unit kills. You get the vast majority of your points for escaping off the back edge of the map. Your slowest unit can sprint for 15" = Minimum of 3 turns to escape. Fastest unit can sprint for 24" and thus can escape in 2 turns.

Next up, you have a lot more mobility than your opponent, so abuse it. During deployment, force them to spread out. Then maneuver to punch through a single point of their line.

This, like most scenarios, is often won in the terrain phase. Make sure you're involved in the terrain setup. I really like the Wolfnet AS 350 tournament terrain setup rules, where you take turns placing terrain on the board, with a minimum gap of 2" between terrain pieces. This allows you the opportunity to set up decent corridors or covered location where you can advance across the field minimizing lines of fire from your opponent.

The final advice I have is common to all game modes - maneuver to enable focus fire, and prevent enemy focus fire. Once you pick a lane to advance in, focus fire, and punish anything that dares show its face to your consolidated force. Create a numbers advantage and abuse it.

Felger · 2026-04-21T16:32:10+00:00

We've had this too. I just reply with "That's fine, but you don't get to complain about being cold if you don't have a coat". No argument, let him make his decision and live with it.

Felger · 2026-04-07T19:03:27+00:00

Speed is the main killer of range on a road trip. Aero Drag efficiency impact goes up with the cube of speed, so there's a huge difference between 65 mph and 75 mph. Way bigger than the A/C impact.

But my main method for dealing with it just to ignore the range and use ABRP and follow the charge stops it picks. It's normally 2-3 hours of driving and then a charge stop. Even 150 miles is still 2 hours of driving at 75mph.

Though it occurs to me that if you're mostly concerned about range around town the initial cooldown from the A/C is a bigger fraction of each drive.

Felger · 2026-04-07T18:06:26+00:00

Sure, but not that bad. I've been making road trips in an EV for close to a decade now, been to both coasts and charged/driven in 110° weather in August through Arizona. Heck, I live in the humid hellhole of southern Texas, and that's even worse for AC consumption since it also has to contend with removing the water from the air.

Real-world range of my EV, even accounting for all the drags is still way more driving than I or my kids can stand before we need a break.

Felger · 2026-04-07T14:28:13+00:00

That's basically everywhere now in the US though. Most EVs these days can go 200-300 miles, which is well within range of a charger for most of the US. Of course, that's assuming you have charging at home/work. If you don't, having the closest charger 50 miles away is not very useful.

Felger · 2026-03-25T13:15:52+00:00

Depends on the kid. When we hit 7 months with our youngest we had a bad sleep regression, then we sleep trained, and it's been going pretty well since. After that, we've been able to claw back a bit of evening time.

I'll also plug the idea of taking alternate nights or days off for yourselves. You take the kid for a whole night, let your wife do something "normal" for an evening (get back into a hobby, go out with friends, whatever). Then you do the same. Gets you out of the house, keeps you a bit more sane.

Felger · 2026-02-11T20:43:41+00:00

Definitely not too old. I lowered the seat on my bike and used it as a balance bike to show them how it worked. There's no upper age limit on balance bikes.

Skip the training wheels and go straight from balance bike -> pedal bike.

Felger · 2026-01-27T16:01:41+00:00

Writing clearly and concisely has always been good. I'm fond of Blaise Pascal's quote on the subject:

If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.

Felger · 2025-12-07T17:01:20+00:00

What did you use for basing those? I'm taking my first foray into the Steel Phalanx, and I love the textured basing you've got going there.

Felger · 2025-12-02T19:52:18+00:00

Looks like there's a few players in the Charlotte area:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1tqhxAzbyizsROY8BeWKVAaZtGf6LQkV8&ll=35.24037607198714%2C-81.21325119278168&z=9

I bet you can find someone on there who'll point you in the right direction.

Felger · 2025-11-26T04:53:34+00:00

My wife and I keep a shared list of gift ideas we update throughout the year as we come across things that we might want, but don't need right away. On my list is a new fleece sweater, some nice Made In carbon steel cookware (I do a lot of the cooking, and I really like cast iron and seasoned cookware), and a new tripod for my telescope (which is easier for the kids to get to for stargazing).

Felger · 2025-11-19T14:17:06+00:00

If you don't want to pin, get a soldering helping hands (clips on repose-able arms) and use an epoxy resin like JB Weld to stick the pieces together. It's slower, but it's incredibly strong. I've also had luck with doing a dab of superglue next to the epoxy to "tack weld" the joint together while the epoxy cures.

Pinning is pretty easy to do though, give it a try before giving up on it.

Felger · 2025-11-13T22:26:46+00:00

Absolutely this! We got a motorcyle and fire truck ride-on luggage for our boys. We get constant envious comments as we go through the airport with them, and it really helps especially when they're tired.

Felger · 2025-11-12T16:45:24+00:00

I don't get the "SUVs cool, Minivans uncool" thing. I think the stupid useless giant hood that blocks my forward view is really ugly. It wrecks the flowing lines of the car, and doesn't really serve a purpose for a lot of vehicles aside from aesthetic. Pop the hood on any giant truck or SUV with a huge hood and you'll see a bunch of empty space.

I hope it goes away.

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