Question for the mech-heads around here

[HRogge]

Most science fiction (game or otherwise) is based on some sort of "ridiculous premise", that doesn't make it "wrong". In the B-tech universe, tanks are supposed to be weaker than mechs, so when a loophole was found to avoid this, it was closed. It's just a balance issue, it's not worth getting angsty over because it's not "realistic", especially when the whole idea of interstellar empires conducting wars is unrealistic in the first place.

Besides, Battletech (or at least Mechwarrior 2 and 3) is infinitely cooler than any tank game I've seen, so I don't care whether tanks killing mechs is more realistic or not.

Yes giant robots are cooler. But Mechwarrior annoys me (subjective opinion) because it has a predetermined idea which has no basis in fact and then designs combat around it, rather than going for a balanced future warfare scenario.

NEVER underestimate the power of battletech tanks. They have more armor ( less size to distribute the same amount of armor points ), mount the same weapons/reactor/ect., don't need a gyro system to stand and can be faster than hell !

A good tank player can be a REALLY challange for a battlemech, especially with a slow tank and within a city.

[Typhonis 1]

and by fast they have one hovertank called a Savannah master in packs these thing are lethal........scared to think what the updated ones carry

[Slartibartfast]

And gravity, I agree with you on most of your points, except for your views on the standard Timberwolf config In 'Mechwarrior 2, 3, and 4 I've always had incredible success with that basic idea (since the in-game mechanics make it impossible to follow that config exactly). It gives your 'mech long range main armament and support (PPCs and LRM, respectively),

But why use both PPCs *and* LRM, rather than just more of one? It doesn't make sense to have two different ranged weapons that both need to be grouped and fired seperately for best effect, it reduces your ability to concentrate firepower.

and short range, rapid fire weaponry in case you get rushed by a little annoying Kit Fox or some such.

This is useful if you don't have lancemates, but a good long-range mech can take on most mechs, especially with the dumb computer AI controlling them.

There's little need to get more "big guns" after the PPCs and LRMs, so might as well spend the extra tonnage on short-range "doorstops", armor, and jump jets.

True, extra equipment can help a lot, but you may as well focus those big guns so you can concentrate your firepower, always vital if you want to quicky take out your enemies (which you do).

I think in the end it's about balancing heat production. Many PPCs will shut your mech down, so a mixture of high-heat and low-heat weapons is good.

[Typhonis 1]

Heat is everything in BT tanks with ICE and non energy weapons can ignore heat penaltied Mechs cant .The higher the heat level goes the worse the effects you get less movement ammo can explode the pilot takes damage till finally the mech up and shuts down

[The Yosemite Bear]

And when you really want to have fun, wait untill you see the enginneering Tanks & Mechs my friends and I designed after we got out of the CDF/OES. Designing soley on the plan of area denial, firefighting, etc. We built things and equiped our infantry with things like that in mind. Besides ordering several FASCAM missions a turn from my own long tom/Arrow tanks scare the hell out of anything.

[The Dark]

On Omni Mechs (Using the BT Compendium as source):

Litterally an Omnimech is a Battlemech that has modualar equipment 'pods' that can be changed out relatively quickly in the field. Equipement that cannot be mounted in a Pod include Engines, Armor, EndoSteel (Lightweight Internal Structure) Omni's are built to take what ever weapon you want & to slap it in and do so in a very rapid manner "Pod replacement takes 30 minutes." It is ambiguous if this is a single pod or the whole shebang. (122-123)

Page 86 of the Master Rules has the repair/replace table, which says "OmniMech Pod (per location) 30 minutes (cannot be modified by Extra Time or Rush Job)."

Standard Mechs can be modified. But we are talking truely moding the suckers, changing them inways that may not have been intended. Engines can be ripped & replaced with bigger or smaller. Armor can be added or stripped, heat sinks added, or missle racks ripped out to make room for lasers, etc. But you'll need a mech shop with sufficient tooks, a lot of time, (You'll be taking things off that were not supposed to be removed to get at the components) and a nice big chunck of money. All assuming you tech succeeds in the skill rolls & doesn't F-Up the whole thing. Pods are like removable Camper Tops on a pickup. Fixed equipment is like adding a sun rood to a sedan that donesn't have on.

To provide some examples, replacing a weapon (not changing it) requires 2 hours and a good technician. To alter a weapon is easy if it takes up both the same number of critical slots and the same tonnage (2 hours). Change one of those numbers, and an average technician will need 8 hours in the shop to do the modification right 50% of the time. Getting it right every time would take 128 hours. To be certain of placing in a weapon that is different both in slots and tonnage with an average technician requires 512 hours of work, or 52 days of ten-hour days. Thirty minutes sounds pretty good if you're in the middle of a campaign.

So what is the real advantage of an Omni? Extreme flexability. Remeber that BTech supply lines are really long. Brought to many Ammo based mechs & running low on supplies? Or did you forget to bring enough LRM support units? Well with standard BTech you're screwed. It reinforcements are available on a planet within 30 light years it takes about 2 weeks transit to get the equipment to you on average, assuming typical distance to Nadir & Zenith, drop ships & jump ships available and not using pirate (Lagrange) points. Add about 1 week + for each additional 30 lightyears.

Assuming traveling from a G2 to a G2, and having to pick up the units to be dropped off, it would be 18 days, 6 hours from the moment the ship left orbit until it reached orbit. If it has Lithium Fusion Batteries, it could cover up to 60 light-years in that amount of time. If not, only 30. For every thirty light-years beyond the limit, add (still assuming all G2 stars for the sake of consistency, and they're fairly "average" for game stats) 7 days and 19 hours.