There's also the fact that the VW microbus is set to eclipse the VW Beetle as the most mass produced vehicle soon, so there's lots of parts commonality without going to those others you mentioned. Which are still available. Yes it gets costly to maintain old cars and the circulation in 20 to 30 years won't be as wide. But they'll still be around.
That would be correct if the model T1, T2, or T3... which did share a good deal of components but as of 1990 with the T4, the microbus switched engine types and body stylings. Post 1990, using parts from a T1-T3 in a T4-5 would be akin to trying to use parts from a 1970's mustang in an 80's or modern day mustang. They all have the same name but are woefully different machines.
There might be actually a similar problem with trying to adapt parts from one chassis to another, even of the same model. The game rules don't go into it, as that is just a sliver more complexity than this game likes to go into at times... not always but at times... so perhaps beyond just a simple 'this is a better model', an in-universe change that is as of yet unknown might have occurred within the model and now parts from an earlier model no longer work or are as easy to use within the model have come into play... as some engineer tinkering with improving the design did something.
Doesn't mean you can't find OEM parts but just that it might be cheaper in the long run to switch to a newer vehicle that parts are still being produced for and thus less a burden on the pocketbook when it comes time to do the inevitable maintenance and repairs. But there is always going to be people who keep old machines running. You can't deny that, I know that, but there does come a point where major repair shops stop stocking locally the parts for older machines and they turn into expensive specialty items that need to be shipped in from an off site warehouse.
That's all very true. I think it's a mistake that people assume they're all that was during the Succession Wars and before when they're just a slice of what was available. But I don't think that just because they get old means production would end. Besides it's not so much the state producing them but buying them. We also have no idea about how many spare parts were made or how interchangeable parts were. For some mechs we know had limited production an non interchangeable parts like the Clint. Other mechs are apparently very interchangeable like the Wasp and Stinger. That's going to throw off when States decide to get rid of them. Usually when they deem them not worth the expense of totally rebuilding them.
Fair enough. We have definitely seen over time more designs fit into the eras of the older books. Wonderful. Much like how for any year, there are more than just the 'big three' automakers and a few big international companies... but the parts catalogs are often jammed packed with small makers and smaller lines for any year. I mostly used Stinger/Wasp because they are nearly identical machines and are often lorded as some of the most mass produced battlemechs ever. It sets the high water mark for statistics.
And you are right, we do not know how many spare parts there are. Much like the mystic
ghost poltergeist that is FASA-nomics, that is too much detail for most to care too much to fill in... it is just too much information for most to want to keep track of. Kind of like the aforementioned lack of details of what really goes into each of the various models. Now, say house X has a moderate supply of common mech Z, unfortunately for them, they lack the ability to actually build it. If this was the succession wars, of course they would continue to use mech Y as they have no other choice but time has moved on. House X has regained the ability to build new mech factories... does it A) build/adapt a line to produce mech Y or B) use this as a chance to build mech Z to replace mech Y... perhaps take common concepts from Y but definitely a new design? Some might choose A over B or perhaps they want to throw house L for a loop and make any captured machines that L will get from X less than useful by not using a standard part that would be common to house X.
It's a possibility and a reason. It's not concrete or even verified but it might drive someone to make a choice. Moving away from what was once a universal standard to one that is a standard amongst only you and your allies might not always be a terrible choice. Just something to consider. I know there will be people who will choose option A, why not? It lets my machines use the other person's parts and ammo without problem but it also lets them do the same. Not always optimal... but that is, like most of my examples, more detail than the game is apt or likes to take into consideration.
The thing is those machine built in different stats would mostly be using local products to cut back on production costs. That could be where we could get some extra-flavor for them. Besides visually differences the quality of the internal components may not be the same. One house could have a better medium laser mounted while another has a better autocannon and another better sensors. Without quirks they'd appear identical but add in quirks to national variants and you could get a very different machine from the base model available to mercenaries. And those are going to be completely different from those rebuilt out of after market generic parts instead of brand new specialty parts which will be different from those made with vintage parts. Even machines made the same year can have very different handling characteristics. And that's all without creating a really different variants like the PPC Shadow Hawks and Catapults.
It'd be so great to have a listing for quirky tech as well as optional table to roll on for various quirks based on age and deployment.
Now that would be fun to say the very least. Not every likes that kind of detail but definitely would be great to see. I love the idea of machines getting quirkier and more finicky with age and wear. I know vehicles seem to get that way... that one place you kick the truck to make it stop whining that doesn't work on the truck of the same model and year sitting next to it... but it has an odd hissing sound that no matter how much you look at it, you can't seem to find the source. Or the same model truck three stalls down that has a tick to it that no matter how many times you change the parts, it wants to act a certain way when turns to the right... noting major or detrimental but you feel it in the wheel. They are all the same model truck, same maker, same year... all completely different machines that provide endless frustration day in and day out. Way more detail than what the average pick up game player wants but definitely a step in making it feel a bit more organic and real.
That's a a reason to keep the old machines. They're tried and true compared to new and untested.
Nothing wrong with old and true... as long as someone keeps producing the parts for it or there is a ready supply of replacements after production has ceased. But the moment BMW stops producing the model engine you are using, suddenly it starts to get really expensive to keep the thrice cursed machine moving... with weeks spent waiting for parts to arrive to keep it running.
I think there is a sweet spot here. Old machines that are plentiful will stay plentiful in their parts via OEM supplies, newly machined custom parts, rebuilds, and salvage... as there is demand to keep them working. The problem comes when the number of old vehicles drops below a critical thresh hold. That is the point where things become a pain to keep running and the price begins to rise. The same thing happens when a new machine is introduced... there isn't yet a ready supply of repair parts available and the price is going to be high but as that new machine enters into that middle ground of acceptance... where there is now currently a good supply, then the price stabilizes.
I love the idea of old machines that fill the fleet (till they inevitably catch fire/break down on the road and throw my whole operation for the day into chaos) as much as I gush over the latest model semi tractor or delivery vehicle with all their new gadgets. I just know there is a certain point that things have to leave general production and service and become collector/specialty vehicles that are not issued or openly supported any more. That doesn't prevent someone from buying an old model but they start to take on the burden of keeping it working.
But again, that is more detail than the game is apt to have or track but it may be a reason for a major interstellar power to make a choice. But... when a major power begins to sell off older machines, that is where the merc lives... grabbing up those old machines and thus it gets to live on in the 2nd hand market... with people who have no qualms tearing an old machine apart and rebuilding it to keep it running... customizing them to a degree that takes them far beyond the state standard models.
There are a lot of reasons for something to happen... one way or another. Besides... well... GhostBear's fiat comment. As much as I would love to argue that or demand data to back up that... it ultimately holds sway over lore.
Or... perhaps it really is all the subtle manipulations of a certain Italian car manufacturer who is secretly pulling the strings on an interstellar scale.
