Editing Robotech RPG Tactics (section)

==Rules==
Simple I-go-U-go squad-based initiative. Maintaining squad coherency, unusually, gives bonuses rather than penalizing units that break it. There are also bonuses for crossfire, enveloping enemies, and tactical positioning. Includes rules for transforming units, a key component of the TV series, which are organic and functional. Most units generate Command Points, which you can use for bonus actions, re-rolls or roll adjustments, and reaction fire. There is an odd focus on melee combat options in the rules, and the artillery rules were so badly-mangled on launch that they had to be updated before the first wave finished shipping to the US. Promised rules for conventional ground-combat units never materialized officially, though the freelancer who had been writing them would eventually release them for free after Palladium (allegedly) repeatedly refused to pay him for his work.

Army building is clumsy. It's based on sub-factions, with a series of Core Squadron cards to which you can attach additional Support cards. Squadrons are small pre-constructed units with the option to buy weapon or equipment upgrades. For each Core, you can take up to two Supports. These include both pilots and additional teams of 1-4 mecha. Each Core Squadron also unlocks one "Special" option, which usually includes specialist mecha and some of the nastier artillery and command options. Each sub-faction gets access to a set list of cards, much of which got errata'd later on. 

When it works (and especially when played with proxies for the unreleased units), the game is fast-paced, cinematic, and bloody. When it doesn't, it's a joyless slogging match, slowly blowing up dozens of cookie-cutter units and praying silently for the end of the match.